The Outdoor Recreation Roundtable (ORR) announced its agenda that will demonstrate to elected officials how the industry boosts job growth, economic revival and American life quality.
ORR’s report titled “A Roadmap for a 21st Century Outdoor Recreation Economy” encompasses the industry’s priorities, including national growth agendas and improved opportunities. The information was developed as elections moved forward.
ORR and the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) will release updated data regarding the industry’s impact on the U.S. economy during a tele-briefing at 10 a.m. EST Nov. 10. The report will include 2018 and 2019 national and state-level data.
Within ORR’s “roadmap” are four primary focuses:
Investments in Recreation Infrastructure Support Jobs and Grow Local Economies
Priorities include tackling the $20 billion maintenance backlog on federally managed lands and waters and ensuring future maintenance funding, along with supporting recreation’s inclusion in comprehensive infrastructure solutions that support road systems on public lands and utilizing youth and veteran conservation corporations to create equitable and diverse futures within the outdoor workforce. Another priority ORR promoted were policies that provide technical training and partnerships in local colleges and universities’ outdoor recreation sectors.
Improved Recreational Access Drives Rural Communities
Access to a boat ramp, campground or trail can be a rural community’s lifeline, ORR stated. Priorities in this category include partnering with local, state and federal agencies to address outfitter-guide permitting, inter-agency coordination, overcrowding, equity and inclusion and creating new innovation opportunities and public-private partnerships. ORR wants to re-establish the Federal Interagency Council on Outdoor Recreation to ensure coordination and efficiency among federal land and water authorities. Creating a visitor data collection method also was outlined. A visitor data collection would create better ways to disperse visitor activities and connect diverse communities, ORR stated.
Sound Conservation Policies Sustain Resilient Recreation Landscapes
ORR outlined resource protection and sustainable outdoor experiences with priorities such as creating a plan to mitigate climate change impacts on recreation assets and gateway communities, along with recovery and restoration support following a natural disaster. Investment in natural solutions that allow recreation while providing buffers during severe storms also was noted as a goal.
Free and Fair Trade Ignites American Innovation
Like most industries, the outdoor recreation sector relies on free and fair trade, global supply chains and stable business environments to remain competitive. ORR prioritized removing tariffs on recreation products, as tariffs increase the consumer recreation cost. Another goal is to support multilateral trade deals that reduce non-tariff barriers, ensuring regulatory cooperation while promoting an American workforce and products.
