The 1994-95 National Survey on Recreation and the Environment

The 1994-95 National Survey on Recreation and the Environment is the latest in a series of National Recreation Surveys conducted by the Federal Government since the first one was done for the Outdoor Recreation Resources Review Commission in 1960. This latest National Survey was an interagency and private sector partnership. Sponsors were the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association, Corps of Engineers, Environmental Protection Agency, Economic Research Service, the National Park Service, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Comparability in activity participation, favorite activities, constraints and demographics were maintained for comparison with earlier surveys done in 1960, 1965 and 1982-83. Approximately 17,000 individuals 16 years and older were surveyed in quarterly samples between January 1994 and April 1995.

You will see from the figures below that bird watching grew at a much faster rate during this 12-year period than any other listed recreational activity. Fishing and hunting participants declined, as did participants for golf, sailing, ice skating, and horseback riding. Bird watching increased by 155 percent, growing from 21.2 million participants in 1982-83 to just over 54 million in 1994-95. The only other actitivity to realize a gain anywhere near bird watching was hiking, participants for which increased by 93.5 percent.

Table 1: Number and percent change of persons 16 years and older participating in outdoor recreation by activity, comparing 1982-83 NRS and 1994-95 NSRE estimates.

Activity	Participants in Millions 1982-83	Percent participating	Participants in Millions 1994-95	Percent change
Bicycling	56.5	28.7%	57.4	UP 1.6%
Horseback Riding	15.9	7.1%	14.3	down 10.1%
Golf	30.0	10.0%	21.2	down 29.3%
Outdoor Team Sports	42.4	26.4%	53.0	UP 25.0%
Boating	49.5	29.0%	58.1	UP 17.4%
Sailing	10.6	4.8%	9.6	down 9.4%
Motorboating	33.6	23.5%	47.0	UP 39.9%
Water Skiing	15.9	8.9%	17.9	UP 12.6%
Swim/pool	76.0	44.2%	88.5	UP 16.4%
Swim/river/lake/ocean	56.5	39.0%	78.1	UP 38.2%
Fishing	60.1	28.9%	57.8	down 3.8%
Hunting	21.2	9.3%	18.6	down 12.3%
Hiking	24.7	23.8%	47.8	UP 93.5%
Walking	93.6	66.7%	133.7	UP 42.8%
Running/Jogging	45.9	26.2%	52.5	UP 14.4%
Bird Watching	21.2	27.0%	54.1	UP 155.2%
Picnicking	84.8	49.1%	98.3	UP 15.9%
Sightseeing	81.3	56.6%	113.4	UP 39.5%
Off-Road Driving	19.4	13.9%	27.9	UP 43.8%
Ice Skating	10.6	5.2%	10.5	down 0.9%
Downhill Skiing	10.6	8.4%	16.8	UP 58.5%
Cross-Country Skiing	5.3	3.3%	6.5	UP 22.6%
Snow-mobiling	5.3	3.5%	7.1	UP 34.0%
Sledding	17.7	10.2%	20.5	UP 15.8%
Camping (overall)	42.4	26.3%	52.8	UP 24.5%
Developed Area	30.0	20.7%	41.5	UP 38.3%
Primitive Area	17.7	14.0%	28.0	UP 58.2%
Backpacking	8.8	7.6 %	15.2	UP 72.7%
Attend Sports Event	70.7	47.5%	95.2	UP 34.7%
Outdoor Concert/Play	44.2	34.2%	68.4	UP 54.7%

Percent change is calculated by dividing the difference in number of participants, between the 82-83 and 94-95 surveys, by the number of participants in 1982-83.
Note: Between the 1982-83 NRS and the 1994-95 NSRE, the population 16 and over grew by 13.4% from an estimated 176,653,000 in 1982 to 200,335,000 in 1995

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