This past weekend, Frostburg State University held its annual Appalachian Festival on campus. There were events ranging from concerts to educational presentations all in their own variety. On September 17, a presentation titled, “Reveling in Regionalism: Ecotourism and Adventure Sports Respond to Growing Demands” was given. This presentation included a panel of three presenters; Mike Logsdon, Dr. Natalia Buta, and Nick Arnold. All three speakers are from the local area. In this presentation the idea of adventure sports and ecotourism was introduced. Mike Logsdon spoke of his involvement with the adventure sports program at Garret College. Natalia Buta spoke of her involvement and education with the topic of ecotourism. Nick Arnold intertwined the two ideas of adventure sports and ecotourism and who they both effect his place of work.
Presenter Mike Logsdon has been a part of Garrett College for 40 years. He is the executive director of the Adventuresports Institute of Garrett College and is also a part of the board of directors for the International Adventure Sports Center. Mike opened his presentation up with a memorable statement; “You couldn’t give people enough adrenaline, they wanted to flip the boat, they always wanted more… but then people started getting hurt.” He was speaking about his experiences with adventure sports. Due the number of injuries and deaths that occurred with this sort of sports, Garrett College decided to implement an adventure sports program. The theory was, if the college could produce professionally trained employees in the adventure sports industry then, hopefully deaths and injuries would be dramatically reduced. In order to be classified as an adventure sport, a sport must be human powered, the opponent must be nature, problem solving is involved, and risk is a factor. Garrett College’s program is designed with three aspects all designed to help students with problem solving skills. The three aspects are general education requirements, supporting coursework and the adventure sports major classes. Behind the ski resort Wisp in Garrett County, there is a facility that contains a white water course. Logsdon believes, “this is helpful to be able to provide auxiliary activities.” The students often teach courses here, or work in the shops in sales. This is all practical experience that is really beneficial.
Dr. Natalia Buta was the next speaker on the panel. Dr. Buta is new here at Frostburg State University; she has only been in Maryland for about four weeks. She is originally from Romania. Buta is a professor in the Department of Recreation and Parks Management at FSU. She has studied marketing at the University of Oradea, Romania. Natalia pursued a master’s in recreation and parks management at Central Michigan University, and completed a Ph.D. program at the University of Florida. Dr. Natalia spoke of Ecotourism, she believes in; “the power of outdoor recreation and natural cultural resources in shaping community and ecological well-being.” Dr. Buta spoke of her passion for outdoors and how it has kept her going in academics. Ecotourism is a form of tourism with emphasis on traveling to areas where nature is prominent, and being more conscious of resources and communities. Ecotourism is about bringing economic benefit to an area. She explains that even though she has only been a part of Frostburg for a little time she sees great opportunities for ecotourism. Natalia states, “Currently there are no programs at FSU involving ecotourism, but I would love to be a part of one.” The only problem that can occur with ecotourism is the possibility of it turning into mass tourism, which affects the wellbeing of communities. It can affect the whole community’s behavior and create a hostile environment. This is because we are getting away from actual appreciating the nature and the resources that the area has to offer.
The third person to speak was Frostburg State University student, Nick Arnold. He is geography major. Nick holds a job with Savage River Outfitters. He has been involved there since 2008. Savage River Outfitters is a business that strives off of the tourism of the area. They offer lodging for fishing retreats, bait and tackle for fishing, bicycle, canoe and kayak rentals. Nick says,
“Savage River Outfitters began to draw fishers and vacationers in because we were offering much lower rates for our lodging compared to Deep Creek and we are only about 20 minutes away.” The Savage River is known for its trout fishing. Surprisingly, The Savage and the north branch of the Potomac are ranked in the top 100 by Trout Unlimited. One of the audience members asked, “Is the fishing affected by the kayak races that take place?” Nick response to that was, “Well, the fly fishermen like to give them a lot of grief for that, but I haven’t seen it really affect any of our numbers.”
Outdoor recreation needs to become more promoted because with tourism it can really economically benefit a community and draw more of an emphasis onto the environment so it can be appreciated greater.
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