Not NOW, duh. But after November 4, and before Jan 20, the future first family needs to slip away for a long weekend and enjoy some of America's finest remaining treasures-- our public lands. Would this be a first for them? As far as I could tell, it might be. But a camping trip is not just a nice idea, it's critical, not just for the Obamas, but for the good of the nation.
Before I explain why, I know you're asking, where could the Obamas go in Dec/ Jan? Follow me below for the wheres and wherefores of President-elect Obama and his first family's celebratory camping adventure.
That time of year, the camping in southern California and southern Arizona is truly delightful-- they could take their pick from sites ranging from the riparian refuges along the Colorado, Anza Borrego Desert State Park, the otherworldly delights of Death Valley or Joshua Tree, or anywhere in the Sonoran desert, from the Saguaro National Park to the backcountry of Organ Pipe and Cabeza Prieta Wildlife Refuge. I bet the DOD would even give President-elect Obama a special use permit to explore the Barry Goldwater Bombing Range!
So, OK, lots of good places to go. Now why, in the midst of one crisis after another, when he has to be getting his transistion team together, should he take his family out camping?
1) Camping is relaxing and healthy
Goodness knows, Obama must be wound up tight as a clock these days. Michelle's got to be on edge, too, what with juggling a tight travel and campaign schedule (his and hers), meeting the needs of their two sweet girls, and trying to keep a smile on her face through all this ugliness. Spending time in a natural environment is one of the most effective ways to de-stress and unwind. The British Royal Society for the Protection of Birds reports
For example, contact with nature reduces stress within minutes; increases the elderly's sataisfaction with where they live and improves children's concentration and self-discipline, including the symptoms of attention deficit disorder (ADD).
Besides the positive health benefits of reducing stress, the entire family can enjoy healthy activities like walking and soaking up sunshine. Spending some time stretching the muscles and relaxing the joints may remind President-elect Obama that the easiest solution for intractible health epidemics like diabetes and obesity, for children and adults, is to spend some time every day playing, walking, biking or exploring outside. A cost-benefit analysis of investment in outdoor activity published in the Journal of Health Promotion Practice estimates that every dollar invested in trails and greenways returns more than twice that amount to the community in medical savings.
2) Camping is good for the economy.
Outdoor activity as a whole generate some $730 billion a year in revenue, when recreationists purchase equipment, food, and paying for travel and lodging. Gateway communities, or communities with significant nearby public lands tend to attract investment, have higher property values, and a higher standard of living. Some of the most famous, like Aspen and Jackson, have become some of the wealthiest areas in the country, and that's not just from a service economy.
Recreation fees at public lands areas (while I deeply disagree with them) have been an important source of revenue for cash-starved parks and forests whose maintenance backlog has only increased under Bush. Agencies collected around $200 million last year, which pretty much went back into their pockets, to fix up high-use areas.
Depending on where the Obamas camped, they might even come across sites created during the last period of similar economic travail. Part of Roosevelt's New Deal was the Civilian Conservation Corps, a make-work program that put thousands of men out on the public lands, building trails, campgrounds, shelters, bridges, and other infrastructure (at left) that remains today. Considering the environmental problems we face-- not just climate change, but the spread invasive species, wetland degradation, and habitat reduction-- a new New Deal should absolutely incorporate some model of the successful CCC program.
3) Camping is educational
Now, I'm a big believer that almost any lesson is going to be more effective when a part of nature education. Literature and nature go hand in hand, ditto art. Math is all around us, indoors or out. Richard Louv, whose movement helped to pass the recent No Child Left Inside legislation, often cites studies showing that children who spend significant time in natural areas do better in science and critical thinking.
But history is important too! Did you know that many of our historical treasures lie on public lands? The Mojave and Sonoran deserts, for all their inhospitality toward humans, are chock-full of fascinating archeological and historic sites, from the geoglyphs near Yuma (at right) to theJuan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail, going from the historic Presidio of Tucson to the California coast. Plus a bazillion fascinating archeological sites from rock art to ruins, many of which gained protections under Clinton's amazing Secretary of the Interior, Bruce Babbit. In and around Death Valley, ghost towns like Calico remind us that for every boom there is a bust, and that extractive industry is necessarily unsustainable.
If the Obamas did go camping at a National Park, they all have terrific Junior Ranger programs, that would be fun and easy for two smart girls like Malia and Sasha. Refuges often have good children's programs, too, and in the winter down there, there are always a million old people relaxing in the sun, who would probably be thrilled to show the girls some of the spectacular migratory birds who also winter down there.
4) Camping sets a good example, especially for African-American families
Except in the South, where a lot of African Americans use public lands for resource gathering (firewood, hunting, fishing), African-Americans are the most under-represented minority on public lands, followed by Asian-Americans. When surveyed, many African-American respondents said that they don't feel safe camping because they are usually the only people of color. I would love to see the future First Family show these folks that yes, they can go camping!
But taking the first family camping sets a good example for all American families-- as it turns out, Hispanic/Latinos are the only demographic that tends to spend time outdoors as a family. Most caucasians camp or backpack as same-age groups, like two adults or a scout troop or what have you. Without their parents dragging them away from the TV, children are spending less and less time in nature, and becoming disconnected from its critical importance. If children don't care about nature, where is the next generation of environmental stewards going to come from?
5) Camping (especially in the SW) offers insight into immigration problems and poverty
More than once while camping in this region, I've been rousted by INS officials, drug smugglers, and coyotes. The public lands along both borders are rife with illegal trafficking of all varieties. The more closely the "easy" parts of the border are controlled, the more people head into the vast roadless public lands. Unfortunately, this has a terrible environmental and human cost. Many humans, forced into areas with no water and shade, perish in the heat. The better-equipped traffickers-- mostly drug smugglers-- often tear up sensitive areas while being chased by Park Rangers or Tribal Police (the Tohono O'odham have an elite tracking force that supports DEA and INS activity in Organ Pipe & Cabeza Prieta).
Even though the secret service would probably scare immigrants & drug runners away from running through the campground, chances are, the Obamas would get a chance to meet some of the many people who depend on public lands to make ends meet through the year. The southern Colorado River is the winter home for thousand of senior citizens who live in their RVs year round. In the winter, they flock to this area of the country, and winter in giant temporary RV villages. They might also meet people out fishing, waterfowl hunting, or (if it's near Christmas), gathering trees... at $10 for a Christmas tree permit, it may be the only foliage people can afford this holiday season! Most people will have already gathered their firewood for the winter, but unless they stick to the parks, the Obamas will surely run into a cow or ten, grazing for less than $2/ month on public grass.
The point being, even in our industrial age, maybe ESPECIALLY in our industrial age, these lands are the last refuge for Americans (and some others) living on the margin, but across the country we have seen energy corporations claim their use is most important for these areas. Not right!! These are OUR public lands, and on those where we permit multiple uses, citizens should always get first dibs.
6) Camping gets you around people who LOVE public lands
And boy, people who love public lands REALLY love them. People feel so protective of their public lands, they don't want people coming in from DC telling them what they can or can't do. Many of the most successful management plans have been those that start with community coalitions, where locals find ways to solve use conflict issues. Unfortunately, under Bush, it's been drill, baby, drill, for 8 years, and all of us recreationists have been getting the big fat shaft. My favorite laws are NEPA and FLPMA, which require public input into most serious decisions affecting public lands. But executive directives have warped this process, including many drilling and logging decisions in the category of things that do not have to be approved. Unsuprisingly, scientific evidence has also taken a hit under Bush agency heads; for instance, according to the Bush-era Forest Service directive, scientific evidence must be considered but does not have to be a primary consideration.
I know Obama is all about power to the people, so surely if he could meet the people whose lives and hearts are so intextricably linked to these lands, who care so much about the smallest management decisions, he would see his way to restoring the land management decision process to the people who really care for it, instead of leaving it in the hands of those who wish only to get while the getting is good.
7) Camping reminds us of our place in the world.
As some observant diarists have pointed out here, the financial brouhaha is taking our collective eye off (and our resources away from) the real dangerous ball-- the collapse of our planet's environment through global climate change. I have heard a lot of Obama's technical solutions-- alternative energy, energy conservation, etc., and applaud them. But what I haven't heard is the admission that humans are part of the miraculous network of life on this planet, and that we can not invent nor buy our way into harmony with nature.
Fortunately, during the month or so that the Obamas will be free to go camping, fire restrictions have been lifted from public lands areas. So they can build up a nice, roaring campfire, and while roasting their toes, they can lean back and look up all the way.... into the depths of the universe. No matter how many times I've done this, I always feel both the tremendous size and scope of the universe compared to the smallness of a single human, and I also feel the link with every one of my ancestors (pretty much all of them, I think) who wondered over the stars, while staying close to the comfort of a friendly warm fire.
Humans have only been around for a little blink, in the big scheme of things. The universe certainly won't miss us if we disappear again. Are all these generations to come to nothing because we can't stop our frenzy of producing and consuming and buying and selling, and remember our place in nature? Sometimes I wonder if a lot of our problems come from forgetting what is real. Folks, money is not real, it is a metaphor. Clean air is real, clean water is real, and a visit to our public lands, which help us keep our air and water clean, can remind us of that.
I wrote this diary because I believe that the time may be near when the people who are pushing for privatization of public resources are going to turn their eyes toward our public lands. Public lands are the key to so much of what ails us as individuals and as a society, and make up a full third of our country's lands, yet they are often overlooked. No amount of "book learning" can make that connection for an individual-- the only thing that will do it is to get out there & discover the wonder and the beauty yourself.
There is a fair amount of presidential precedent for camping-- I think my favorite story is that of Grover Cleveland going on a wild hunting and fishing and drinking binge in Yellowstone for two weeks, with no press invited. I don't recommend that for the Obamas, but if they do find time to make a family weekend in the desert, I hope they do invite the Bidens along. And remember the marshmallows!!