Recreation can be compatible with other forest management objectives. 

 Logging roads can serve as cross country ski trails in winter and 

 hiking trails in summer. 



visits in 1975, which represented an increase of 45 

 percent in the number of visits over those made in 

 1967.26 



Nonetheless, it is difficult to fully assess the 

 national impact of State and locally owned units on 

 outdoor recreation. There are few common denomi- 

 nators between States and local governments with 

 respect to the administration of lands. Some States 

 manage their land strictly according to use desig- 

 nation — like those State Parks managed solely for 

 outdoor recreation and preservation of resources. In 

 other States, State Parks and State forests are man- 

 aged for both recreational purposes and other forest 

 and range products without special distinction be- 

 tween the two systems. Also, some States have not yet 

 given their lands any special classification. An exam- 

 ple is Alaska, which, as a result of the Statehood Act, 

 has 36.4 million acres in State ownership, but pres- 

 ently lacks any special management classification of 

 its land. Similarly, several western States have school 

 trust lands. Some of these tracts are administered by 

 agencies, like public school systems, whose primary 

 responsibility is not land or recreation management. 



2' The National Association of State Park Directors and Mis- 

 souri Division of Parks and Recreation. State park statistics — 

 1975. National Recreation and Park Association, Arlington, Va. 

 34 p. 1977. 



Future prospects for increasing the availability of 

 outdoor recreational opportunities on public lands 

 will depend on two factors: (1) The continued recog- 

 nition of outdoor recreation values to society and (2) 

 a continuing commitment to the funding necessary 

 for the expansion and maintenance of outdoor 

 recreational resources. While fulfilling an important 

 role in supplying recreational opportunities, most 

 public lands must also serve other purposes. These 

 include such diverse purposes as getieration of hydro- 

 electric power, timber production, fish and wildlife 

 habitat, preservation of wilderness, municipal water- 

 sheds, a source of minerals, and livestock production. 

 In planning future programs for public lands, out- 

 door recreation must be given adequate consideration 

 with other objectives for public lands if future genera- 

 tions are to enjoy outdoor recreational experiences 

 equal to what the Nation has come to appreciate. 



Equally important will be the need for adequate 

 funding in the future. Expenditures by the Federal 

 Government in outdoor recreation totalled $1.5 bil- 

 lion in 1975, an increase of 91 percent over the 1965 

 level." Due to inflation, however, this rise repre- 

 sented only a slight increase in real value and may 



2' Federal outdpor recreation expenditure study, 1975, op. cii. 



79 



