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PrintThe corporations behind computer games, movies, TV shows and other electronic media have long since saturated the market with ads touting their products. They've been extremely successful in getting Americans to buy their stuff, contributing to the sharp decline in outdoors recreation. Experts from the health and outdoors resource management fields say the current generation will be the first to have less contact with the outdoors than their parents.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is hoping a series of radio ads promoting outdoors destinations will begin to reverse the trend. The agency has launched a public service radio campaign urging Americans to connect with nature and visit a National Wildlife Refuge.
Outdoors editor John Hayes will share details of the Post-Gazette's reporting on the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission's new trout management plan at a free public meeting of Penn's Woods West Trout Unlimited.
The meeting starts at 7 p.m. Dec. 14 at VFW Post 810, 3801 Clairton Blvd. (Rt. 51), Brentwood. Call 412-963-2824.
The campaign includes eight 60-second spots promoting several wildlife refuges and the government's efforts to preserve some animal species. Over 3,500 radio stations broadcast the first four educational messages in November.
"Americans can take pride in the tremendous beauty and diversity of refuge lands dedicated to the protection of wildlife habitat," said Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, in a prepared statement. "By visiting these places and encouraging their children to forge a connection with nature, they can help ensure vital wildlife conservation efforts will continue for generations to come."
The first four spots promoted the Merced National Wildlife Refuge, California; Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge, Florida; Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge and the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge, New Jersey.
Fish and Wildlife manages the National Wildlife Refuge System's 550 refuges -- one within an hour's drive of most major cities -- to provide a protected home to more than 700 species of birds, 220 species of mammals, 250 reptile and amphibian species and more than 200 species of fish. In additional to wildlife observation, many refuges provide opportunities for hiking, canoeing, hunting and fishing.
Find out more about the National Wildlife Refuge System at www.fws.gov/refuges.
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