Suzi Dow consults a forester

What are they up to?

Well, you've just encountered Fred and Suzi Dow. Their mission? To document the state of the campgrounds in our national forests. Why?

According to Fred,"The primary reason is because it needs to be done. There is no place except our site where you can go and get all the information on all of the forests."

Suzi elaborates. "National forests preserve so much of our national heritage. They provide quality environment, watershed protection, wildlife habitat. And the campgrounds are the lobby to our national forests. It's where people go to stand and wonder underneath the tall trees."

There's been a lot of attention paid to our national forests lately, from roadless areas to protection of old growth. Fred and Suzi Dow are that rare breed of citizen who take on a crucial piece of practical work — perhaps not the most glamorous, but one of the most crucial: the built connection between humans and the rest of nature. Fred is a retired manager for office automation in the federal government. Suzi teaches communication and English composition courses at a community college near their home in Bisbee, Arizona. They've combined their skills to produce the U.S. National Forest Campground Guide, an exhaustive survey of 1,126 campgrounds in 94 national forests.

The Dows in front of
their trusty camper

GORP and the the Dows have been working together since the beginning of their project. Not only do we host the U.S. National Forest Campground Guide, we've picked their brains and used their images for our own coverage of the national forests.

This year, we'll be following the Dows as they survey campgrounds in ten more national forests. It's all happening in the national forest section of our destination forum. Post your questions, not only on campgrounds, but on the recreational opportunities in our national forests.