A recent television program sounded another alarm about youngsters not growing up with any exposure to the Great Outdoors. It reported a significant national decline in the number of kids that get to see and appreciate some of this country’s magestic national parks. This should not be a surprise, especially to sportsmen who are paying attention. Over the years, I have spoken to a large number of Maine fish and game clubs. Gray beards like me abound. There are few young people joining these once-diverse sporting organizations. National statistics support the anecdotal evidence.

And it not just a lack of young hunters and anglers. The television program noted that fewer and fewer youngsters are getting fresh air and exercise anywhere or anytime as kayakers, rock-climbers, hikers,campers, or whatever. ( Does this explain the growing problem of obesity among America’s future citizens?)

Armchair observers suggest a multitude of causes from the electronic revolution to profound social change (single parent, no-dad households).

What do you think?

Jerome Richard, a thoughtful person who writes a monthly archery column for the Northwoods Sporting Journal, recently expressed his concern in this area. He wrote:  

“Some of the observations I think that are contributing to the problem involve technological devices such as computers, smart phones, iPads, Kindles, Xbox, social networking, etc. But like I mentioned before it goes beyond to other reasons including the 4+/- years of the recession and fuel prices. Think of the past family structure where families had several kids and more stable marriages, and what the family structure looks like now with fewer kids and more broken homes. Kids struggle to get through a trade school or college, and after graduation they have crushing student loans. Some of our young people have been diverted to fulfill their military duty with the ongoing 10+ years of war in the Middle East. Childhood obesity is epidemic and it has to make you wonder: is it more about inactivity or what is in food? Kids don’t look at summer camps and Boy Scouts as acceptable anymore.”

Boy Scouts is not as acceptable anymore?  Incredible!

Putting aside for a moment the seemingly inevitable loss of this country’s long-established hunting and fishing legacy, there is an even more worrisome social outcome lurking beneath the surface. A Fifth Circuit Court Judge in New Hampshire recently wrote me an appreciative note about my new book, Maine Deer Hunter’s Logbook. Although his kind words about my book were most appreciated, what really caught my attention was his thought-provoking comments about what he sees as an inverse relationship between juvenile delinquency and a young person’s exposure to outdoor activities. Here is what the New Hampshire judge had to say:

“I have been a judge in New Hampshire since 2001.  A portion of my docket involves juvenile delinquents.  I have heard about 3,000 juvenile cases over the years.  Of those cases, ranging from rape to assault and drug use, only a half dozen or so kids hunted, a few more fished.  The rest have no connection whatsoever to the outdoors.  This is all the more troubling since I am assigned to a court in one of the most rural counties of New Hampshire.”

“Kids exposed to the outdoor lifestyle learn patience and respect.  They
generally stay out of court.  My experience may be anecdotal, but the
anecdote is becoming the rule.  Almost all the kids I see come from a single parent household.  No dad leads to no mentor for hunting and fishing.”

“You and I have given our sons more than money can buy.  The connections made when you are with a kid when he or she gets their first duck or partridge or deer last forever.  Watching a boy learn how to cast a fly or set a fox trap is all the reward a parent could ask for.”

“Sorry for the length of this diatribe.  But the world continues to amaze and sadden me as I look at it through a kid’s eyes, knowing that kid’s world is defined by electronics and pavement.”

Perhaps we are too late to stem the tide, but a number of influential organizations, like L.L. Bean, have begun to realize the far-reaching implications of the problem and are developing programs to lure youngsters away from the Great Electronic Seduction and into the fresh air and sunshine.

We’ll see.   

The author is editor of the Northwoods Sporting Journal. He is also a Maine Guide, co-host of a weekly radio program “Maine Outdoors” heard Sundays at 7 p.m. on The Voice of Maine News-Talk Network (WVOM-FM 103.9, WQVM-FM 101.3) and former information officer for the Maine Dept. of Fish and Wildlife. His e-mail address is [email protected] and his new book is “A Maine Deer Hunter’s Logbook.”