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More than 70 percent of those surveyed said they favored outright purchase from willing sellers as an appropriate tool for conserving open space.
“Working in a bipartisan way with the General Assembly, we have started to step-up our efforts to protect open space by forging consensus on common-sense changes to our existing land conservation tax credit program,” Governor Kaine said. “In addition, we have set an ambitious goal of protecting an additional 400,000 acres by the end of this administration - a goal that will require doubling the number of acres currently protected each year.”
Several survey questions revealed that Virginians recognize the importance of outdoor recreation and access to open space. When asked about the importance of access to outdoor recreation opportunities for their families, more than nine-in-ten respondents indicated it was “important” or “very important,” and fewer than 10% percent said it was “not important.”
The Virginia Outdoor Survey also looked at how Virginians spend their time in the outdoors and ranked the top 20 outdoor recreational activities. The top activity, walking for pleasure, was unchanged from the 1992 and 2000 surveys. Water-related activities took four of the top ten activities (swimming 4th, visiting beaches 6th, fishing 7th, and boating 10th).
The percentage of people driving for pleasure dropped nearly seven-percent from the 2000 survey. Visiting historic sites saw a 15 percent percent increase, and visiting natural areas rose by more than 17 percent.
“When looking at all of the activities ranked, it appears more people are visiting historic sites, parks and other natural areas to enjoy the outdoors,” said Secretary of Natural Resources L. Preston Bryant, Jr. “This also demonstrates the public’s desire to have natural and historic resources that are not only preserved, but accessible as well.”
The survey also focuses on the Virginia State Park system and the public’s expectations from the awardwinning 34-park system. More than 40 percent of respondents said they had visited a Virginia State Park within the previous year. “Lack of information” and “too far from home” were the top two reasons cited for not visiting a state park.
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