Size of the Pool

[VikingsGuy]

So, the US has approximately 200,000,000 adults. Over the last three presidential election cycles we have averaged approximately 140,000,000 voters. These are large numbers when we think about building a broad, energized and sustainable coalition of voters who care about public lands, and preservation of hunting, trapping and fishing on those lands. I understand that much of politics is achieved through small and highly motivated interest groups, but over the long haul the majority - either through direct ballot initiatives or through the momentum/results of many election cycles and the parties that win those elections - will eventually carry the day on many important public land and hunting/trapping/fishing issues.

So, as we try to reach the audience, I wonder how many of these folks have actually really experienced open public lands?

The question is: "How many American adults have spent at least one full day (including a night) on public lands more than 1 mile away from the nearest road/trailhead at some point in their adult life?

(note, I had to shorten the question to fit in the poll form)
(edit: added reference to span of time)

 

[Islander]

Are you asking for a guess?

 

[MarvB]

Quick ? @VikingsGuy ... are you talking in the last year or EVER?

 

[VikingsGuy]

Are you asking for a guess?

Yes - it is a question that asks for speculation. For some that may be purely a SWAG, for some it may be educated by some of the outdoors survey info floating around.

 

[VikingsGuy]

Quick ? @VikingsGuy ... are you talking in the last year or EVER?

In their adult life.

 

[MarvB]

I think the pool is gonna be pretty shallow at both ends. The mile in coupled with the overnight being the separating statement. Hell I think we’d be surprised/disappointed with the results if it was even asked of those holding hunting licenses.

 

[406dn]

Who knows, why the one mile cutoff? A mile is not that far from a road. Even before I had horses, I went in far deeper than a mile. I don't know how spending the night makes a crucial difference either.

I'd guess as many hikers as hunters have been a mile deep into a roadless area.

 

[VikingsGuy]

Who knows, why the one mile cutoff? A mile is not that far from a road. Even before I had horses, I went in far deeper than a mile. I don't know how spending the night makes a crucial difference either.

I'd guess as many hikers as hunters have been a mile deep into a roadless area.

An arbitrary choice - as would be 2 miles, 5 miles, etc. Just trying to get a sense for folks that have tried to get away from their car for a day. For those out west, you be surprised at the number of people from NY or Chicago that have never spent a night outdoors let alone hiking a mile to do so. The open west is the exception not the rule for most Americans.

 

[marksjeep]

The eastern half of this country has very little public land compared to the western half, and it would be difficult in much of what public land is available back east to get a mile away from a road. <1%

 

[npaden]

The one mile from the nearest road thing really is going to weed out a LOT of people. VERY few people are going to be hauling their camping setup over a mile from the road to spend the night. I bet even the majority of the folks on this forum if they are honest don't qualify for that one.

There are days that I might hike 15 miles during the day and be as far as 5 or 6 miles from a road but I tend to hike back to camp at night that is generally right next to a road. Even if you opened it up to during their lifetime including childhood, my son has been in Boy Scouts for 4 years and they haven't done a campout where they spent the night over a mile from a road. Thinking through the last 10 years I can only think of 3 trips that would qualify for me and I've hunted over 100 days during that time and probably put 1,000+ miles on the boots on public land.

 

[D4570]

It all depends on what the definition of "IS" is.
Road = paved, state, county, BLM, dirt, two-track, or goat trail.
There is a spot we boat to on one of our rivers that has a sign( BLM) that says your 50 miles from any road. Not a good place to break down.

 

[Gellar]

If I recall correctly less then 1% of visitors to Yellowstone make it more then a mile from the road.

 

[VikingsGuy]

It all depends on what the definition of "IS" is.
Road = paved, state, county, BLM, dirt, two-track, or goat trail.
There is a spot we boat to on one of our rivers that has a sign( BLM) that says your 50 miles from any road. Not a good place to break down.

You are over thinking it. This is not law school or the Clinton impeachment trial. There is no way I could make a one sentence question that covers all possible perpsectives, considerations, definitions, questions, possibilities, etc. It's a 10 second question asking for a 10 second answer.

 

[rwc101]

I'd probably choose an even smaller number if it were an option. 1 mile from any road is pretty hard to do around here. There's tons of two track that are hard to escape.

 

[VikingsGuy]

I'd probably choose an even smaller number if it were an option. 1 mile from any road is pretty hard to do around here. There's tons of two track that are hard to escape.

Was thinking paved and gravel, not so much 2 tracks.

 

[406dn]

We all know the number is pretty low. That does not mean it has no value to those who have never done it. People visiting Yellowstone value the scope of the place even if they stay in their car.

Sadly, much of the land area in the lower 48 is pretty close to a road. I know that my circumstance is not the norm, but a mile away from a road is just getting far enough away to imagine you have some solitude. I suspect in some places that isn't enough distance.

If a legal two track is available, there will be some traffic on it. Two tracks are roads as far as I'm concerned.

Here's a photo from back in the day when my brother in law and I hunted and camped about 6 miles in from any road or two track. Any more, with horses, I will return to the end of a road, where caring for horses is generally easier.

 

[rwc101]

Was thinking paved and gravel, not so much 2 tracks.

Seems kinda law schooley, but aight.

 

[Pucky Freak]

Perhaps another relevant datum is the total number of nights any person camps a mile from a road per year. I know loads of people who have done it at least once in their lifetime, but personally I’m probably at around 250-300 nights, so about 7-8 nights/yr since I’m 37. I’d wager that the overwhelming majority of people who backcountry camp are frequent fliers.

 

[Pucky Freak]

% of adult population ever backcountry camped (% of total # of nights backcountry camped per year)
90 (0)
8 (15)
2 (85)

 

[BAKPAKR]

Like the number of first time gun owners, I think the number of people who have spent
the night more than a mile from the road has increased significantly over the last year. I pulled up to a wilderness trailhead in West Virginia about an hour before daylight on a Saturday morning in mid-September, 2020. There were nearly 40 vehicles parked there when I arrived, most I suspect from the day before or earlier. A little after daylight, when I set up my camp about two miles in, I saw two tents across the valley. When I returned to camp from a hike later that day, I counted ten tents.

Despite the increased use of the backcountry I have seen lately, I suspect the number using it within the parameters set out is still well below 10,000,000.