If you are a baby boomer, or even older, you may fondly recall the all too common words of your mother and father to "Go outside and play."

Sneak in the house for more than 10 minutes and you heard it again. Today, parents are more likely to say "You better stay indoors where I can keep an eye on you."

Children today spend less time outdoors than any previous generation. Kids between eight and 18 spend an average of 6.5 hours a day with electronic media. Obesity in children has increased from 4% in the 1960s to 20% in 2004. While 71% of adults report they walked or rode a bike to school, only 22% do today.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is extremely concerned about this trend.

Since 1980, the DNR has seen a 14% decrease in hunting license sales and a 22% decrease in fishing license sales. If fewer Michiganians are getting out to hunt and fish it has a direct impact on the DNR's budget which now, more than ever, must generate its own source of funding.

DNR Director Rebecca Humphries is a strong advocate of recruitment and retention programs and believes it is one of the department's top priorities.

"New hunters and anglers, especially non-traditional users, must be brought into shooting, hunting and fishing activities," Humphries said. "This will strengthen the funding for conservation, broaden the diversity of participants and preserve Michigan's rich outdoors heritage."

Yet Humphries also recognizes that for many of today's youth,
a leap from the couch to a tree stand may be a bit far. As the DNR looks at structuring conservation education programs in the future, it will offer a mix of opportunities for those ready to go on their first deer hunt and those wanting to sleep under the stars for the first time.

What all these opportunities will have in common is the same admonition we remember from childhood, "Go outside and play."

But the DNR also is not ignoring the fact that newer generations are almost hardwired to technology from an early age -- television, computer games, handheld games, etc.

"That's why we are developing an interactive Web site for youth that will be educational and entertaining," said Kevin Frailey, DNR Education and Outreach manager. "But making it fun is only one piece of the puzzle. Much of the material will encourage kids to spend more time outdoors and give them and their parents ideas on things to do."

One of the DNR's strong foundations for getting kids outside has been its nature interpretive programs offered at eight state parks and two state fish hatcheries. Thousands of visitors each year are learning about nature from the spark provided by the DNR's frontline natural resource educators, the park interpreters who believe that making that outdoor experience fun and entertaining is key.

"The first step is getting more kids outside more often," said Jon Spieles, interpretive manager for northern Michigan. "We need to reverse the trend and make it comfortable and fun to be outside."

Taking a nice walk in a forest or having an easy canoeing experience might lead to another more confident step outdoors. The DNR is committed to assisting the public with these initial steps in the belief that they might lead to developing a new generation of outdoorsmen and outdoorswomen.

Although many outdoor educators have long recognized the healthy benefits of spending time outdoors, it was a California newspaper columnist Richard Louv who turned the entire nation on its head several years ago with his book, "Last Child in the Woods."

Subtitled "Saving our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder," Louv used statistics and anecdotes to portray an America afraid to go outside and said technology overload and over-structured athletics were leading our children astray.

As a result of Louv's work, communities, civic leaders, health professionals and many other leaders across the nation began looking at new ways to encourage Americans to spend more time outside.

Nothing could be sweeter music to the DNR.

"Bring them on," Director Humphries said. "The DNR manages a public land base of nearly eight million acres, more than any state east of the Mississippi River. Michigan's 3.9 million acres of state forest is the largest in the continental U.S. and only California has a larger system of state parks. All this land is a natural playground for families to enjoy."

But at a time when the DNR cannot do it all alone anymore, the agency is working to build more partnerships with traditional outdoors organizations as well as with non-traditional partners like Big Brothers Big Sisters, The Salvation Army and Racing for Wildlife, an initiative between the Ryan Newman Foundation and the Conservation Fund to encourage families to enjoy the great outdoors.

"We taught nearly 600 children to fish and learn archery this past summer at our pocket park in Detroit as a result of a recent partnership with The Salvation Army," Frailey said, "and the first Racing for Wildlife conservation project is the restoration of the Mill Lake Youth Camp at the Waterloo Recreation Area."

In addition, Frailey said the National Archery in the Schools Program has helped the DNR put an archery curriculum into more than 200 Michigan schools.

But all these things are only the beginning. With the help of many, and the determination and leadership of the DNR, more Michiganians will learn to string a bow, pitch a tent, identify a wildflower and catch a firefly.

So, go on ... go outside and play.