149 
per person. For families with incomes between $3,000 and $6,000, 
the days per person increase to 33.4; and for families of $6,000 or 
more, the averages are from 40 to 50 days per person. Within this 
level of participation the type of recreation enjoyed by the various 
income-level families changes. Quite obviously, yachting would not 
be one of the activities chosen by the lower salaried classes. 
Other patterns exist in the demand. Cyclic fluctuations in the 
demand occur over the period of a day, a week, a month, and the year. 
Patterns also exist in the areas to which the people visit. Some recre- 
ation or park areas are used only in the summer, while others find 
use spread out more evenly during the year. The local areas are used 
during the year while people vacation to some of the more scenic 
parks. The reason for visiting the recreation area also changes over 
the season. The fishermen in the summer are replaced by the hunters 
in the fall. 
The distribution of the demand over the type of recreation area 
available in the intermmediate and resource base classes can be 
shown by the National Park Service statistics.* Back in 1926, the 
demand for these parkland and wilderness areas was approximately 
4.6 million visits. In 1956, it had increased to 52.5 million and is 
expected to reach 230 million visits by 1976. These visits were divided 
between improved public areas (areas improved by public funds), 
and unimproved public areas (wilderness areas). In 1936, one-fifth 
of the visits were to unimproved public areas but by 1964, twice as 
Many visits were made to unimproved areas as were made to im- 
proved areas. This indicates cither an interest of the people in wilder- 
ness areas or the lack of improved areas to go to. Of the total national 
park visits in 1965, one-third of these were to national parks, one- 
quarter to historical sights, and 10 percent to national monuments. 
Wildlife refuges for hunting and fishing have seen an Increase in visitor 
days from 3.4 million in 1951 to 11.1 million in 1961, a threefold 
increase over 10 years.® Over the 10-year period from 1955 to 1965 
this value only doubled. Many factors could influence this demand, 
thus reducing its growth rate. Most important in this respect would 
be the adequate supply of areas available to fulfill the demand. If 
this supply were not sufficient, many people would have to do without. 
The land required to increase the supply of land available for 
recreation must come from the existing 2,274 million acres in the 
United States. Of this total, 282 million acres is already available as 
nonurban public designated outooor areas as of 1960, or slightly over 
12 percent of the total.”* The governments, Federal, State, and munici- 
pal own 34, 4, and 1 percent of the lands respectively. Of the 59 percent 
in private hands, 50 percent is designated farmland. Thus for future 
expansion of recreational lands, the Federal or State governments 
could increase the supply or farmers and private landowners could be 
convinced that it is beneficial to open their land for recreation. The 
policy to guarantee open spaces and recreation areas for the future 
6 Clawson and Held, ‘‘The Federal Lands: Their Use And Management,’’ Resources For The Future, 
University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, 1957. 1 
7 Outdoor Resources For Recreation Review Committee Reports, (ORRRC), GPO, 1962. 
(a) ORRRC #1, “Public Outdoor Recreation Areas: Acreage, Use, and Potential.’’ 
(b) ORRRC #3, ‘Wilderness and Recreation—A Report On Resources, Values and Problems.” 
(c) ORRRC #12, “Paying For Recreation Facilities.”’ 
(d) ORRRC #19, ‘‘National Recreation Survey.” : 
(ec) ORRRC #22, “Trends In American Living And Outdoor Recreation.” 
