Video games, gas prices cut traffic to US parks

"For the peace and serenity of being out here, I wouldn't have cared what they asked for," says Richard Smith, who drove up from Las Vegas.

In 10 days he's been tramping up every trail he can find, though it hasn't been cheap. "I had a wad of hundreds about that big when I started," he says, using his thumb and pointer finger to demonstrate a sizable roll, "and now I have about three of them left."

Sitting on a picnic table next to his F250 and his tent, he looks up at the towering pines with an expression that says it was worth every dime.

A past park survey in Yosemite didn't reveal discontent over the entrance fee, nor did the public comment period this time draw more than a few dozen objections, says Yosemite spokesman Scott Gediman.

Instead, Yosemite attendance is down, he suggests, for a number of reasons: gas prices, 9/11's chill on the economy and foreign visitation, the 1997 flood – and shifting demographics.

California is a "majority-minority" state, but the park doesn't yet reflect that, Mr. Gediman concedes. To expand beyond seniors, foreigners, and white families, Yosemite is trying to "bring the park" to new ethnic populations. One program put a climbing wall in Fresno to attract Hispanic youths.

Then, too, there seems to be a generation change, with children not coming to the parks as much.

"Kids have so much going on, they're just scheduled so much, that they don't come to parks," says Gediman. "Parents think that hey, it's summer, the kid's going to soccer camp."

That resonates with Susan Campos, a visitor from Clovis, Calif. She comes with her two daughters several times a year but seldom sees younger parents in her area making the trip.

"I think it's a generational change," she says. Her childhood was back in the days when kids roamed more freely, priming them for the outdoors. "We had more of a sense of adventure and we didn't have to have entertainment provided. Kids get bored much more easily."

Federal officials, governors, and others around the country have launched programs to fight what they see as "nature deficit disorder" among American couch potato kids spending increasing amounts of time in front of the TV or computer screen, playing video games, or text messaging on their cellphones – 44 hours a week, according to the National Wildlife Federation.

NWF is promoting its "Green Hour" program to get kids outdoors for an hour a day of unstructured playtime (which doesn't include organized sports) – preferably in the natural world. The idea is to instill more curiosity about nature and the parks.

Like other states, Michigan recently designated a "No Student Left Inside" day. "Helping our children connect with the outdoors is essential to making sure our natural resources are protected and respected in the future," said Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D).

Secretary Kempthorne has been talking up such programs as a way of boosting "the next generation of park visitors." Similarly, the US Forest Service this week launched a "Kids in the Woods" grant program to support outdoor education programs and overnight trips.

There still are young people, however, who don't need nudging. "Yosemite is the big wall mecca," says Guillem Malet, a rock climber and college student from Barcelona. "I decided to study abroad in the States because it had Yosemite."

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