IN TODAY'S economy, leisure is the lifeblood of the countryside - but many people fear that unless it is properly managed, it could become poison.

Tourism versus tradition, recreation versus rural ecology, is one of the burning issues which protesters will highlight during the Liberty and Livelihood march on Sunday, amid claims the government and its town-based supporters treat the countryside like a "glorified theme park".

Next month sees the start of a lengthy inquiry into the proposed National Park designation for the New Forest, which most locals fear could cause irreparable damage to the historic landscape as it becomes swamped with millions more visitors each year.

Scores of commoners who help maintain the unique environment are already on the brink of giving up through a lack of funding - and an attitude which saw holiday-makers allowed back onto the Forest during the foot-and-mouth crisis while hundreds of ponies and other animals were left to die in waterlogged farm fields.

Richard Manley, chairman of the Commoners' Defence Association, has been encouraging members to travel to London at the weekend, and said the government must listen to grass-roots opinion or face the consequences.

"In this area, commoners represent the goose which lays the golden egg for rural tourism," he explained.

"Without us, the Forest would not exist in the form it does. Within a couple of years, it would become an overgrown wilderness, and no-one would be able to walk there.

"Families have grazed animals there for generations, but because of the decline in the farming industry, young people are no longer interested, and I can't blame them.

"People cannot go on doing this out of their own pockets, they are running on empty. We need some kind of payments system to manage the land, like they have in Dartmoor, or a relaxation of farming rules to help us market local produce in a viable way."

Olive Collins, who runs Balmer Lawn Bike Hire at Brockenhurst, is also secretary of the Commoners Animal Protection Society, and fears the National Park designation could make a difficult situation much worse.

"We make our living from tourism and I think the Forest needs it to survive, but it has to be managed properly," she said.

"There are already times when parts of the Forest are overrun with people, and that pressure can only increase with the advent of a National Park.

"We are urging the government to provide tailor-made legislation which will retain local powers and responsibilities, and not just impose more outside bureaucracy with no understanding of what makes this area work.

"And that may mean allowing for Draconian powers to limit public access to land on certain occasions. At the moment, public use of the Forest is a privilege, not a right, and there may be times when that will have to be withdrawn for the good of the land."

Public access to the countryside - enshrined in new "rights to roam" legislation - is also causing major unease in Dorset.

Local National Farmers Union vice-chairman Ellen Box, who has a farm near Wimborne, said: "It is all very well the government talking about rights of way, but that should not give visitors license to do whatever they like.

"The countryside is not a theme park, it is a working environment - much more so in Dorset than an area like the Yorkshire Dales, for example.

"There are already problems with walkers not sticking to footpaths, leaving gates open, pulling up fences and the like, which cause enormous headaches for farmers.

"We don't want to exclude people anyone, but more must be done to educate tourists. The countryside can be shared, if people behave responsibly."