The Social and Outdoor Recreation Contexts for Southern Wildlife

Southern U.S. forests contribute to sustaining and adding quality to human life in many important ways. From before, during, and continuing now well after early European settlement of the South, native and immigrant populations in the South have lived in, off of and with forests as a major feature of their landscape. One of the important ways people benefit from the forests of the South is through outdoor recreation. In this paper we focus on wildlife recreation as one of the major uses of southern forests using the 1995 National Survey on Recreation and the Environment (NSRE) as the primary source of data. We also examine demographic trends and shifts in the recreational role of wildlife and seek a resource management interpretation of these trends. The NSRE was developed by a partnership of federal agencies and the private sector to assess trends in outdoor recreation participation nationwide and across all the regions of the country (Cordell et al. 1998). The survey included questions on nearly 90 different types of outdoor recreation pursuits, including wildlife activities. In our discussion of the wildlife recreation activities included in the NSRE, estimates of participation in both nonconsumptive and consumptive activities are presented. All estimates are for participation occurring during a l’l-month period in 1994-95 by people 16 years or older. Before we focus attention on wildlife-based outdoor recreation activities, however, we will first take a look at the overall social and outdoor contexts and trends in the South within which wildlife is a highly valued recreational resource.