12 



Conservation, conservation education, recreation — these are all 

 important things that need to be done, have to be done. I think the 

 most important thing that I would like to mention is that this cre- 

 ates a partnership between the outdoor user, the outdoor recre- 

 ation, the states, the Federal Government to enhance conservation. 



We couldn't do it totally with the investment that we do in con- 

 servation, but together we can create wonderful things. We have a 

 slogan at Bass Pro Shops, "The great outdoors pass it on." This ini- 

 tiative would do just that. Thank you. 



[Statement of Mr. Mac Donald may be found at end of hearing.] 



Mr. Saxton. Thank you very much, Mr. Mac Donald. Mr. 

 Weizenicker. 



STATEMENT OF DAVID L. WEIZENICKER, PRESIDENT, 

 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF STATE PARK DIRECTORS 



Mr. Weizenicker. Good morning. I am Dave Weizenicker, Presi- 

 dent of the National Association of State Park Directors. This orga- 

 nization consists of the administrative heads of all 50 State park 

 systems. At the same time, I am Director of State Parks for the 

 State of Wisconsin. I would like to include for the record our orga- 

 nization's resolution of support for "Teaming with Wildlife" and my 

 statement in its entirety. And I will just highlight several key fea- 

 tures of this initiative. 



My group is pleased to be a partner with the International in 

 this important effort not only to conserve fish and wildlife habitat, 

 but also to enhance the public's opportunity to observe, understand, 

 and enjoy fish and wildlife in their natural habitat. There are 5,357 

 parks, forests, and natural areas throughout the Nation consisting 

 of nearly 24 million acres. The nation's State park systems last 

 year hosted over 752 million visitations. 



My organization is supporting this proposal basically for two rea- 

 sons. First of all, the fish and wildlife conservation, the fish and 

 wildlife-related recreation, and education components can provide 

 magnificent opportunities for the outdoor recreationists who are 

 growing in numbers in every State. Nature tourism is the fastest 

 growing segment of the travel industry, a 30 percent annual in- 

 crease since 1987. 



Secondly, and I think this is especially important, this proposal 

 offers an opportunity to rely less on government and more on our- 

 selves as users to fund outdoor recreation and resource programs. 

 More and more people are seeking outdoor recreation opportunities 

 to improve health, reduce stress, family togetherness. Our constitu- 

 encies are telling us across the country that they are willing to pay 

 a fair share for more benefits, more opportunity so long as the ad- 

 ditional charge is utilized for the intended purposes. 



Because of competing needs in every State of Federal and State 

 dollars for other high priority purposes — health, education, public 

 safety — funds for recreation and conservation will likely not be 

 forthcoming at least in the near-term, creating a monetary void 

 that this user fee could fill. 



A user fee incentive will be of immeasurable assistance as seed 

 money to encourage organizations and citizens to match, thereby 

 maximizing the bang for the buck. There are many examples in the 

 State parks across the country of friends groups and other organi- 



