Number: 1980-38
WHEREAS, various outdoor activities such as birdwatching, hiking, canoeing, picnicking, and camping have been termed nonconsumptive uses of the environment; and
WHEREAS, in reality these uses can, and often times do, have a disruptive influence on the flora and fauna of the area where the activity takes place; and
WHEREAS, these disruptive influences may have an even greater adverse impact on the ecosystem than the more conspicuous so-called consumptive uses because the latter are normally controlled whereas the former uses are not; and
WHEREAS, these implied nonconsumptive uses are difficult to control because of their individualistic nature;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation, in annual meeting assembled March 20-23, 1980, in Miami Beach, Fla., hereby urges the industries which supply the equipment used in these activities, the organizations and associations that represent these users, and the governmental units responsible for managing the affected natural resources to cooperate in an educational effort aimed at making the participants in these activities aware of the consequences of their actions.