Survey Says Recreation Areas are Crowded and Far from Home:

RCO Seeks Comments on Recreation Plan

A survey by the Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO) says people feel more "crowded" than ever in virtually all recreation activities.

The RCO surveyed Washingtonians about their participation in outdoor recreation and found that activities like walking and biking are the most popular, and people need more safe places to do this close to home.

Sports are second in popularity, with many different sports competing for scarce facilities.

People also like to watch wildlife and take pictures outdoors, as well as hunt and fish, showing the importance of protecting wildlife habitat.
   
Those surveyed said they are concerned that younger generations are out of touch with nature.

Washington has about 10 million acres of public land managed in whole or part for outdoor recreation, habitat, and environmental protection. The vast majority of recreation land is federal, located at high elevations far from our communities.
 

RCO Seeks Comments

The RCO is making recommendations about the roles and responsibilities of state government in outdoor recreation in a draft document now out for public review.

The State Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP) will help state government with budgetting and accountability, and help communities determine if they have the right amount of parks and recreation space.

The RCO is seeking comments on the draft SCORP document (pdf, 41 pages).  Send comments to Jim Eychaner  jim.eychaner@rco.wa.gov by May 30th.