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Embracing America's outdoor traditions

by Mike Beagle, a REP member in Oregon
published in The Oregonian on September 4, 2004

My 8-year-old daughter and I recently stood at the bottom of a 300-foot cliff and talus slope overlooking Blue Lake in the Sky Lakes Wilderness.

To me it was a short climb. To a little girl about half my height, the hill looked downright colossal. But I knew something about my daughter that she is only beginning to learn: her potential.

I'm a teacher, so soon I'll make the annual return from summer's heat to the familiar confines of my classroom. I'll hear students' excited stories about travel, work, adventure and camping forays into the local woods. I'll value them all but will keep a special place in my heart for those few children who seek and enjoy an experience in wild America.

As a high school teacher and coach over the past 15 years, I have made some disheartening observations regarding the health and welfare of our society's children. I have seen too many kids influenced by too much television. I have seen too many kids hooked by commercials advertising "extra-value" meals and flashy technological advancements to make our lives "easier." I have seen too many kids too eager for motorized all-terrain equipment that can "get us there faster."

You've probably seen the statistics. Obesity is rampant among American youngsters. Once they've learned bad eating and exercise habits as children, they will likely carry those habits into adulthood.

I don't need the statistics. I've seen it on the faces and bodies of too many kids.

It is no coincidence that the more-is-better message that saturates their lives correlates with their poor health. The easy way has caused a dysfunction with the natural world, while shortening the potential of their lives. I don't think it's any coincidence that while our kids become less in control of their own health, they are becoming less in touch with nature.

For my family, getting away from the rigors of life and commercialism has meant traveling to land that has changed little over the past few centuries -- wilderness. Whether backpacking into the Sky Lakes Wilderness nearby, tossing a fly into a stream or lake in the Rockies or chasing blue grouse with a shotgun, getting back to the natural world has been a challenge for my two young children but a confidence booster as well. Though at times it comes under protest, they know that their comfort zones always can be extended.

My father instilled in me at a very young age the importance of natural settings and spirited adventure. President Theodore Roosevelt termed it "the strenuous life."

We can change the "super-size-me" mentality in America and improve our mental and physical health. However, it will take gutsy national leadership that embraces the past and honors the American outdoor tradition on public lands. Support for roadless lands protection and wilderness designation of that ground would be a great start. With protection of those precious lands, we will always guarantee our families and our children places to hunt, fish and hike, and moments to enjoy peace and solitude.

Building the type of mental and physical stamina that is required for hiking, hunting and angling adventures in the backcountry would help to improve the confidence level of our children and would provide a tangible impact upon their self-esteem. Without leadership and understanding from our national leaders, our society will continue its dangerous slide away from the wonders of the natural world.

And good habits, like bad habits, last a lifetime. I still hike and fish with my father, who is now in his 60s.

As my daughter and I made the top of the cliff and looked down upon Blue Lake below, she radiated confidence and vigor. Her smile was pure joy, and I could see and feel that it was an experience that matured her beyond her years.

Her comment: "Daddy, that was a lot easier than it looks -- can we do it again?" Looks like I'll be sweating in my future. We should all be so lucky.