By Garry Rogers

Outdoor Recreation Aids Plant Invasions

Outdoor recreation does far more than simply transport invasive plants.  It disturbs soils and vegetation and takes the lives of animals.  Leopold commented on the most violent type of recreation:

“The disquieting thing is the trophy hunter who never grows up. … To enjoy he must invade, possess, appropriate.  Hence the wilderness that he cannot personally see has no value to him.  Hence the universal assumption that an unused hinterland is rendering no service to society” (Leopold 1949:  176). Continue reading →