PUBLIC POLICY UPDATES
Stewardship in the Time of a Global Pandemic By Matt Leahy
D
uring the height of the COVID-19 crisis, news reports and social media posts highlighted the surge of visitors to New Hampshire’s state parks, White Mountain National Forest, and other natural areas, including the Forest Society’s Mount Major Reservation. These reports reasoned this rush was due to Americans discovering their love for the outdoors and wanting to escape the claustrophobia of the COVID-induced lockdown. Certainly, if the virus did increase our love for open spaces, that might be one of the few positive outcomes from the trauma the world experienced. We should hope that, as the memory of the pandemic slips away, we do not forget how we reconnected with the outdoors during this period. We should also ask how can we as a state leverage this increase in outdoor visitors to boost our commitment to stewarding New Hampshire’s natural heritage? Stewardship is the act of caring for the land and its resources and conserving the ecosystem services associated with those lands. The term implies an active—not passive—commitment to the land. Typically, these responsibilities are viewed as resting with the property owner, whether that owner is a public agency, a land trust, or a private citizen. Yet, the lists of the many reasons to get outside usually relate to how the individual or society as a whole will benefit. To be sure we should underscore how a walk in the woods can lower stress levels or improve the cardiovascular system and how outdoor recreation supports the economy. However, publicizing those personal benefits presents an opportunity to inform both trail users and policy makers about the challenges facing the outdoor recreation system. The outreach should begin with a simple point: these trails, which are part of the state’s way of life and a key part of the economic vitality we enjoy, 20 | FOREST NOTES Summer 2021
exist because of the efforts citizens, private landowners, and public agencies made to create them. Maintaining them requires ongoing attention and resources. For the most part, a heavy burden falls on this core group to keep trails in good shape. In other words, we are able to enjoy the outdoors because of these groups and their continued steadfastness to keep the trails open. Fortunately, we have seen increased attention relating to this issue, even prior to the emergence of COVID-19. Campaigns led by organizations such as the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics are providing the best practices to follow for anyone visiting the outdoors. As part of its mission, the recently formed Granite Outdoors Alliance, of which the Forest Society is a member, will focus on the sustainability of outdoor recreation. The New Hampshire Department of Business and Economic Affairs this year established the state’s first director of Outdoor Recreation Industry Development. Finally, back in 2017, the New Hampshire Commission to Study and Recommend Improvements to the New Hampshire Hiking Trails Network noted that “if efforts are not made to increase resources for trail maintenance, parking, education, and overall trail management, the availability of trails in the future will be limited or lost.” No one wants to see that scenario occur, of course. Yet, the waning of the COVID-19 crisis will not reduce the demands on natural areas; the challenges facing the trail network will remain the same as they were prior to the pandemic. The Hiking Trails Network Commission
offered some concrete action measures that could help to address this challenge. Advocacy groups and government agencies can build on those recommendations or move forward with other proposals. Those who already volunteer will continue to offer their services and energy. However, we need to increase the understanding of how New Hampshire’s hiking trails came to be and how they are maintained. A first step could be to expand to whom the term “trail stewardship” applies. Instead of it referring to just the property owner, let’s pull into the circle of stakeholders everyone who benefits— not just the organizations who own and do the hands-on trail work. The pandemic unsettled too many lives. To find some level of solace from that stressful experience, we took to the outside. No doubt, the spike in visitor use brought challenges for land managers and owners. Ideally, it would also lead to what Aldo Leopold (considered to be the father of wildlife ecology) was thinking when he said, “When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.” Our recreational trails serve as community gathering spots. By ingraining an ethic of love and respect for the land into future visits, we can improve the sustainability of the trail network in New Hampshire. Just as importantly, we can also strengthen the commitment to stewarding our state’s natural heritage. Matt Leahy is the public policy director for the Forest Society.
Learn More: + Read the entire report the Commission to Study and Recommend Improvements to the New Hampshire Hiking Trails Network published at https://bit.ly/3ALxp8g. + Turn to page 22 to learn some pro tips on how to tread lightly on your next visit to Mount Major Reservation.
