205ARGUE

Florida, for example, closed most of its nude beaches in 1983 without public review.
136. By extensive legal precedent, it is unquestionably legal to be nude in private, on private property.
137. Many state or local governments have also explicitly legislated the right to be nude in designated
public areas, such as legally-sanctioned nude beaches.
Legal nude beaches are rare but not non-existent in North America. British Columbia, for example,
currently has one legally sanctioned nude beach, and Oregon has two.
138. There is no universal federal prohibition against nudity on public land. In general, public land agencies
view nude recreation--conducted with discretion and sensitivity to the varying values of others--as "legitimate
activity." 201
Many state and local governments (notably Oregon, Vermont, and the California Department of Recreation
and Parks) have followed the federal policy as well, without conflict.
William Penn Mott, a former Director of the National Park Service, wrote: "NPS must consciously seek to
respect and accommodate wide ranging differences among visitors and professional colleagues in lifestyles and
values with sympathy, dignity, and tolerance. I believe that parks are a place where the human spirit is more free,
more capable of permitting people to be themselves, closer to a oneness with universal truths about humankind and
about our relationship to nature and the sacred truths by which we live. . . . I believe it is too easy for government
employees--all of us--to think there is only one way to enjoy and use the parks and that when the visitor enters 'our
parks' they must 'do it our way.'" 202
139. The nude use of most federal lands is, in fact, constitutional because there is no universal federal law
prohibiting it. The Ninth Amendment specifically says that no freedoms shall be denied which are not specifically
prohibited. 203
140. The mandate of public land agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service provide for diversity of
recreation. Historically, provisions have been made even for extreme minority forms of recreation. Recreational
diversity ought to also include provisions for nude recreation.
A 1983 Gallup poll found that 14% of Americans occasionally enjoyed nude recreation. 204 How many
activities does 14% of the American public participate in, of any kind? Surely not hunting, snowmobiling, mountain
biking, or the use of off-road vehicles, all of which have designated areas set aside for their use!
141. Clothing-optional recreation is less offensive to most people than many other forms of recreation
which are openly tolerated and even promoted on public land.
A study by Dr. Steven D. Moore of the University of Arizona demonstrated that encountering nude bathers
on public land is five times more acceptable to the public than encountering hunters. 205
142. Naturists certainly deserve at least as much consideration by land management agencies as resourcedamaging
activities such as off-road vehicle use.
As Pat O'Brien points out, "avoiding nude people in places where they're expected to be is easy. That isn't
true when it comes to other sanctioned uses of our public lands and waterways. The roar and stink of a snowmobile
or other off-road vehicles can't be ignored, and you'd best not overlook a jetskier in the water near you. Why then is
it so objectionable for us to ask to use a small amount of space on a non-exclusive basis, in ways that do not pollute
and do not drive others away?" 206
143. The Wilderness Act of 1963 defined wilderness areas as "lands designated for preservation and
protection in their natural condition." They are to be managed in a manner that maintains them in as natural a state
as possible. It follows that human should be able to enjoy wilderness areas in their own most natural state, free from
the artificial constraints of clothing.
144. Public wilderness areas ought to be places where human freedoms, including nude recreation, are
observed more freely than anywhere else. Wilderness should be our measure of carefully controlled anarchy, our
refuge free of any but the most necessary intrusions by government rules and regulations. Do we not go to