How Does Outdoor Recreation Affect the Environment?
background
perspectives
history
current
closure
conversation
History
The United States government has passed laws allowing citizens to participate in the environment without causing any harm to it. Two executive orders, 11644 and 11989, signed by presidents Carter and Nixon in the 1970s, were written to
“ensure that the use of off-road vehicles on public lands will be controlled and directed so as to protect the resources of those lands, to promote the safety of all users of those lands, and to minimize conflicts among the various uses of those lands” (doitgreen)
. If these laws had not been passed, drivers would be able to operate their off-road vehicles through the wilderness, which would “shatter the wilderness silence, crush vegetation,
terrify wildlife, leave rutted trails, and cause erosion” (doitgreen). The creation of national parks and the National Park Service (NPS) has also benefited the environment. Yellowstone, the first national park, was established in 1872 to halt the development of this area.
The NPS was opened in 1916 to manage parks like Yellowstone and many other lands that would later be national parks (nps.gov)
. Without these establishments, unique lands filled with distinctive species around the country would be destroyed.
background
perspectives
history
current
closure
conversation