11/18/08 Deschutes County
 
by Ariel Wesler
 
The U.S. Forest Service says fewer people are visiting national forests nationwide. Visits to national forests in Oregon and Washington dropped 27 percent from 2004-2007. Compared to 13 percent nationally, it's the sharpest decline of any region in the country.
 
“If we have less money to maintain sites due to lack of use, that would be a significant impact,” said Recreational Manager Mark Christiansen with the U.S. Forest Service.
 
The forest service uses the National Visitor Use Monitoring System to track visits and trends. The figures are exit studies, based on surveys and counts around the parks. These numbers provide the first comparison to earlier results.
 
“One year's survey in 2002 is just that a survey in 2002 and the same thing would apply to last year,” Christiansen said.
 
He says this survey is just a snapshot in time and a variety of factors including weather, seasonal fires, and the economy all have an affect. Environmentalist Scott Silver says it's no surprise. The reason for the decline? Visitors fees.
 
“They're being marketed the public lands and sold the public lands, and I think a lot of people find that off putting, said Silver, co-founder of Wild Wilderness in Bend.
 
Many believe taxes should cover the cost. Silver is passionate about fighting against commercialization of the forest. He says its becoming a packaged commodity.
 
“We shouldn't be managing to drive people to the parks, but if people want to visit the parks, then we need to accommodate them,” Silver said.
 
The last survey of the Ochoco and Deschutes National Forests specifically were done in 2001 and 2002 respectively.  Researchers say the Deschutes did see a decline in visitors over the five year period, but have not published exact numbers. Those are due out by spring of next year.