Seattle Culture
Back Page: Nature Therapy
Washington state is among the leaders in outdoor recreation
By Rob Smith December 7, 2024
This article originally appeared in the November/December 2024 issue of Seattle magazine.
The headline in the June 1970 issue of Seattle magazine sounds provocative, perhaps even a bit pugnacious: “Why WASP’s Camp: The quest for a Lost America.”
The article had less to do with Presbyterians and more with the challenges of conservation and outdoor recreation. Written by David Brewster, who went on to found both Seattle Weekly and Crosscut.com, the article lamented the trend of overcrowded campsites, and Washington state’s rapidly disappearing wilderness areas.
“Unlimited access to the wildlands as we know it now has just a few years left, maybe three,” Brewster quoted mountaineer and author Harvey Manning. The article also noted how one-fourth of state parks users were from out of state.
Today, Washington is among the nation’s leaders in outdoor recreation, public conservation, and access equity. Of the more than 5,400 state residents who responded to a survey published in the state’s 2023 Recreation and Conservation plan, 75% gave the state a four- or five-star rating for providing enough places for outdoor recreation.
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