Visitors to National Recreation Forest and its Operation : Situation and Problems of the National Recreation Forest in Kikuchi Valley, Kumamoto District

Recently, peoples which recreate in natural area are increasing greatly in number. In due consideration of this tendency, Forest Agency has constructed national recreation forest on national forest throughtut Japan since 1969. Place and area of national recreation forest have reached to 92 and 113503 ha in 1986. This paper has analyzed on the condition of recreational use and operation in Kikuchi riverhead area, Kikuchi valley, one of national recreation forest. This paper is made up of analyses of the consequence by setting out questionaire in area of Kikuchi valley in 1974 and of the consequence by following up survey in 1987. These contents are summarized into the following three points. First, visitors to area of Kikuchi valley increased greatly in number after opening of mountain highway between Kikuchi and Aso in 1974 and amounted to 674000 persons in 1978. Its number is the peak till 1986. The latest several years, there are visitors of approximately 500000 persons for year. Second, District Forest Office in Kikuchi district manages in itself forest that owns in area of Kikuchi valley. But its office entrust regulation of visitors, cleaning of inside of forest and creation of facilities to association for cleaning of area of Kikuchi valley. Its association was brought forth in 1974 from conference established for conservation of national recreation forest in 1971. Its association is composed of city office, liaison conference of traffic safety, society of commerce and industry, sight-seeing, headmans, womens, youngmens in Kikuchi city, forest benefit society, Kyushu industry traffic company and Kumamoto electric railway company. The association accepts entrance fee 100 yen for cleaning and 100 yen for adjustment of auto from each visitor. Fee from visitors has amounted to 169 million yen till 1986. Those fee was spent to cost of cleaning and of arrangement of facilities etc. Third, Forest Agency prepares conservation forest for human life and ski facilities in addition to national recreation forest and put the operation under the charge of local government and private enterprise entrusted by Forest Agency. But there is few national recreation forest that has favorable geographical feature and road to be able to gain fee from visitor like Kikuchi valley. Consequently, as the operation is put under the charge of three systems, it depends up amount of expenditure, condition of finance of three systems. This leads to over-use of national recreation forest for development of regional economy and for addition of sale of shop. Over-use takes out destruction of forest in many cases. In 1987, the law of the development of total recreation region had been enacted. This law expresses practical use of national forest in the text. But practical use threatens to ruin national recreation forest from the mentioned viewpoint. Forest Agency now needs to reconsider the system of operation for recreational use in own forest.