Some anti-forestry groups claim active forest management comes at the expense of outdoor recreation on public lands. Stop logging, they argue, and rural communities will transition toward more prosperous tourism-based economies. New research recently highlighted in The Conversation disputes those claims.
Researchers found that severe wildfires are driving major declines in outdoor recreation across the West. In areas burned at higher severity, visitation to popular recreation sites dropped by 15% to 20%.
In California, wildfires reduced visitation by an average of 18% in the first year after a fire. In places hit by high-severity fire, visitation losses reached 33% and showed no recovery even five years later. Researchers in Colorado found similar patterns. Recreation visits declined sharply after severe wildfires and many sites struggled to recover visitation over time.
Those numbers matter because recreation economies depend on people actually wanting to visit forested landscapes. When forests are heavily damaged by wildfire, people stop coming. Campgrounds close. Trails become unsafe. Roads wash out. Smoke fills the air during peak recreation season. Communities that rely on outdoor recreation lose business and revenue.
The research also found something equally important. Recreation visitation often increased in areas where forest management treatments have occurred. Researchers say that increase may reflect improved trail conditions, enhanced wildlife habitat that attracts birders and hunters, or positive public perceptions of proactive management.
Forests across the West have grown dangerously overcrowded after decades of management restrictions, litigation, and political opposition to active management. Those conditions are fueling larger and more destructive wildfires that leave behind damaged forests and long-term recreation closures.
Groups that spent years promising that less management would benefit recreation now have to explain why so many heavily-protected forests are burning at high severity and becoming less accessible to the public.
Active forest management and recreation go together. Thinning dense stands improves forest health and helps reduce wildfire intensity. Managed forests are often more resilient during a wildfire event and recover more quickly. Healthy forests support hunting, fishing, hiking, camping, wildlife habitat, and clean water.
This research reinforces what many rural communities, foresters, and recreation users have been saying for years: keeping public lands healthy and accessible requires active stewardship. If policymakers want to increase public access and recreation on federal lands and support rural economies, they cannot continue blocking the very management tools that help prevent catastrophic wildfires.
