This paper addresses problems associated with rurbanization, which is the invasion of rural areas by affluent urban and surburban people seeking a "country" lifestyle. There is a distinction between lifestyle--which reflects an individual's values, attitudes, and affluence--and culture, which is a design for living adapted to a group's social and physical environment and passed down through generations. Rurbanites affect a lifestyle, while rural communities have a culture. The impacts of rurbanization on hunting, fishing, and trapping are apparent in the development of land that once belonged to wildlife and outdoor enthusiasts. Rurbanization contributes to the decline of rural culture by altering the economy of rural communities and contributing to the degradation of rural values and attitudes. Rurbanization results from and contributes to a lack of connection with the land, the natural world, and its processes. It also supports a trend away from pluralism and diversity and toward fundamentalism, ultimately leading to cultural death. Strategies for reversing the decline in rural culture include sustaining farms, farm families, and farming-based communities; promoting diversity and appreciating that rural values and way of life are another aspect of cultural diversity; infusing outdoor education throughout all grade levels to help connect students with the natural world and their community, and to support the building of personal stories reflecting rural traditions; and supporting nonformal approaches to outdoor education that encourage participation in outdoor activities and rural traditions. (Contains 9 references.) (LP)