The acquisition of land and the development of new and
expanded state parks continued throughout Governor Tawes'
second term. A major accomplishment was completion of the
Assateague Island Bridge linking that ocean island with the
mainland and opening the island to increased numbers of
vacationers. During this period, new state parks were opened
in Western Maryland and on the Eastern Shore as the State
met the challenge of providing adequate facilities for the out-
door recreation of its citizens and visitors.

REMARKS, GOVERNOR'S CONFERENCE
ON RECREATION AND PARKS

WASHINGTONIAN MOTEL
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD.

April 5, 1963

I am very pleased to be here today to take part in this 1963 Gov-
ernor's Conference on Recreation and Parks. As Governor of the State
it is a delight to see so much interest in this very important govern-
mental service to the citizens of Maryland.

It has been most gratifying to me to watch during the past few
years the really remarkable increase in the use of our forests, parks
and recreational facilities, not only by Marylanders but by the many
thousands of visitors who come here each year. The people of this
country, as we all know, are enjoying more leisure than any people
have ever known before—the result of shorter working hours, longer
vacations, long week-ends and a willingness to spend more money on
pleasurable activities.

Before coming here today, I collected some figures from our Depart-
ment of Forests and Parks—figures which indicate a tremendous re-
surgence of interest in the recreational facilities which the State pro-
vides. For example, last year the attendance in our forests, parks
and recreational areas was 3, 602, 103, an increase of nearly 400, 000
over the previous year. It is interesting to note that this figure rep-
resents a half million more persons than the entire population of the
State. In our parks alone last year, there were 1, 640, 641 sightseers,

469