When next you find yourself in a wilderness area, whether that be at a national park in another state or a local or state park closer to home, take a moment to look at the folks around you while you’re enjoying the flora, fauna and pristine views.

What you’re likely to notice is a lack of diversity. That’s because the majority of those who spend time in wilderness and the backcountry participating in human-powered outdoor recreational pursuits are predominately white. 

Fact is, statistics collected by the U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, and Fish and Wildlife Service show that while people of color make up nearly 40 percent of the total U.S. population, close to 70 percent of those who visit national forests, national wildlife refuges, and national parks are white. And Blacks remain the most dramatically underrepresented group in all of these spaces.

It’s not that people of color and other underrepresented groups don’t appreciate and enjoy the outdoors. Visit an urban park — especially on a weekend — and you’re likely to see more people and activity at parks located in black and Hispanic sections of town than at parks in predominantly white neighborhoods.

The question is why? What’s keeping state and federal parks and other wilderness areas from reflecting the diversity of the overall population in this country? A good follow-up question might be what can be done to make these areas and their associated outdoor activities attractive to a more diverse population?

Exploring the Possible Reasons for the Lack of Diversity in the Backcountry

Several factors may be contributing to the lack of diversity in human-powered outdoor adventure and recreation activities. These factors can be broken down into (more…)