Fall 2005

Effects on the Two-Legged Creatures:
Where Will We Recreate?

by Carol Whitlock

In the South, forest ownership and recreation demand are trends heading in opposite directions, with consequences that could possibly change the culture of society, as well as the look of the landscape.

Most forestland in the South is and will continue to be in private ownership. Since early in the last century, large tracts of forestland have been in the hands of timber companies, a situation that benefited local communities by providing both high-paying jobs and access to recreational opportunities as long as recreation use did not interfere with forest management and harvesting. Some of these arrangements became formal with local clubs and counties leasing industry land for hunting, fishing, and other recreational uses. Regardless of specific use, southerners were accustomed to having abundant and relatively inexpensive recreation nearby.

This loose network of recreation users and willing landowners is now unraveling. Southern population growth outpaces that of the Nation as a whole, especially on the Piedmont Plateau, the Atlantic Coastal Plain, and the area adjacent to Mobile Bay. In addition, participation in recreation activities is growing faster in the South than in the rest of the United States. (...continued...)