The Outdoor Recreation Roundtable (ORR) is helping rural communities build their outdoor recreation economies with a newly developed resource – the ORR Rural Economic Development Toolkit.
ORR is working with Oregon State University’s Outdoor Recreation Economy Initiative and the National Governors Association Outdoor Recreation Learning Network to develop the resource, which incorporates input from more than 60 ORR stakeholders.
The toolkit includes links to various resources and videos, along with outlines of steps rural communities can take to bolster their outdoor recreation economy.
“We are excited to get the Rural Economic Development Toolkit up, running and out to the states and rural communities as the go-to resource to expand local outdoor recreation economies,” ORR acting Executive Director Lindsey Davis said. “It may seem simple for communities to build outdoor recreation economies, but there are a ton of factors rural communities struggle with when attempting to broaden their communities’ economies, from bandwidth and monetary resources to messaging and public perceptions. This toolkit will be the resource to help communities navigate those challenges and be successful.”
The outdoor recreation sector is a powerful economic force nationally, ORR stated. It supports 5.2 million jobs, generates $788 billion in economic output and comprises 2.1 percent of the U.S. GDP. ORR noted its focus on supporting U.S. rural communities.
“Not only are they gateways to much of the land and water we recreate on, but they are also huge economic opportunity zones for the outdoor recreation industry,” ORR stated. “The toolkit provides state and local officials, as well as rural community members, information on 15 best practices for developing an outdoor recreation economy.”
Highlighted practices include “Identify and Empower Local Champions,” “Build Collaboratives,” “Achieve Buy-In from the State” and “Ensure Value Capture.”
The toolkit outlines the challenges rural communities could face as they build their outdoor recreation economy, ORR stated, including limited staff, administrative bandwidth and funding challenges. It also discusses how to tackle misperceptions about outdoor recreation, including simply being about increasing tourism and dealing with cultural and infrastructure changes that occur when shifting reliance from one economic driver to multiple.
Most communities will need additional resources to implement their plans, ORR stated. The roundtable compiled a federal grant and technical assistance list to accompany the toolkit. View the list here.
ORR said it planned to share the toolkit with outdoor recreation state offices, industry businesses, community chambers and more in the coming weeks and months. The toolkit also will be available through social media.
