Outdoor Recreation Roundtable (ORR) will welcome federal stakeholders, businesses and nonprofit sectors to join a discussion surrounding outdoor recreation’s future.
The annual conference, deemed “Partners Outdoors,” is scheduled for June 1-2 after a year hiatus in COVID-19’s wake. The event has occurred the past 30 years.
“We encourage anyone with an interest in the future of outdoor recreation and land and water management, funding, equitable access and infrastructure to attend this virtual two-day event,” ORR Executive Director Jessica Turner said, “and participate in discussions around the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on outdoor recreation, the future of the recreation workforce, recreation policy and more.”
This year’s Partners Outdoors will feature speakers and leadership from the White House, Congress, National Park Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Forest Service. In addition, ORR members, university partners and cross-sector businesses, such as Winnebago and Kampgrounds of America, will join the session.
“The networking and conversations that occur during Partners Outdoors will be extremely beneficial for the public, private and nonprofit sectors as we begin to implement the Great American Outdoors Act, prioritize Land and Water Conservation Fund projects, work with the new [President Joe Biden] administration on recreation priorities and set a course for bipartisan recreation policy in Congress,” Turner said.
Topics to be covered in the session include:
- COVID-19 impacts on outdoor recreation
- Recreation and conservation collaboration
- 21st century outdoor recreation workforce
- Recreation management and policy’s future
