Colorado Conference Debates Outdoor Recreation

IMBA Trail News
Volume 11, Number 3
July-August 1998

Leaders in the fields of public lands management, recreation, and policy examined the "promise and peril" of outdoor recreation in the "New West" at the University of Colorado Law School in June. Debate centered around two main themes: the environmental and social impacts of recreation, and how to fund public recreation management.

IMBA's Communication Director Gary Sprung spoke about "Recreation As An Ally for Environmental Protection." He pointed out the old and continuing connections of outdoor recreation and the environmental movement, and listed many of the environmental achievements of IMBA member clubs. Sprung acknowledged the impacts of recreation, including effects on wildlife and other land users and changes in communities' characters. But, he noted, recreation, if properly directed, can lead people to greater appreciation of Nature and build efforts to protect our natural world.

The funding debate considered user and entrance fees, excise taxes on recreation gear, use of private market approaches, and expansion of the use of tax revenues from off-shore oil drilling to support non-game wildlife. A powerful, positive speech by the Superintendent of Yellowstone National Park, Michael Finley, highlighted the conference.