Ben Muse

Fewer Fishermen

Sport fishing isn't as popular as it used to be in the U.S. 

The Fish and Wildlife Service conducts national surveys of fishermen and hunters every five years.  The surveys from 1991 to 2006 have been done in a consistent manner.  Here are the key numbers for total anglers, freshwater anglers (Great Lakes and non-Great Lakes) and saltwater.  All measured in thousands:

Climate Change and Outdoor Recreation

What  will we do for fun outdoors, as global warming increases average temperatures, rainfall, snowfall, and sea levels?  John Whitehead at Environmental Economics reads the tea leaves in a series of three posts:

Antarctic Tourism Is Way Up

Hugo Ahlenius of the United Nations Environment Program summarizes trends in Antarctic tourism in recent years (Trends in Antarctic tourism).  Here's the annotation for the figure:

Where have all the hunters gone?

The numbers of hunters in the U.S. have been declining. 

Ian Urbina reports on state efforts to encourage young people to take it up (including hunters education, apprenticeship programs, lower minimum age requirements, agency sponsored hunting trips for women, children under 15, and the disabled, hunting classes for single mothers, youth hunting weekends):  To Revive Hunting, States Turn to the Classroom (New York Times, March 8).

We're not playing as much golf

People aren't getting outside and playing golf as much as they used to: More Americans Are Giving Up Golf (Paul Vitello, New York Times, Feb 21):

Back From Back-to-Nature

Thoreau, Muir, and T.R. would be appalled!  Oliver Pergams and Patricia Zaradic write that there is Evidence for a fundamental and pervasive shift away from nature-based recreation (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, February 8, 2008).

Here's the abstract:

Not as many hunters as there were a while ago

The Economist reports that fewer people are hunting in the U.S.:  The declining Nimrod (Nov 8)

Where Are The Campers?

Nights spent camping in U.S. national parks have been declining since the early 1990s:

Cruising to Alaska

The last cruise ship of the season came through Juneau in mid-September, ending a season which begins in May each year.  Throughout the summer there were typically three or four large cruise ships at the docks or at anchor in Juneau's harbor. 

From Alaska Port Reviews.

Rough preliminary estimates from the industry suggest the number of passengers touring to Alaska were up by about 40,000 from last year, bringing the total close to 1,000,000 for the season: