Notes from the Field

Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) has released congressional-level Outdoor Recreation Economy reports for all 435 congressional districts. These reports are the first of their kind that captures the power of a vast multi-billion dollar economic engine in our local communities and across the nation.

Use the tool here to find your congressional district report and download the PDF.

REPRINTED FROM THE GAZETTE:

Long considered a nice backdrop, the area’s outdoors is now bringing in the green.

During its second annual State of the Outdoors event, the Pikes Peak Outdoor Recreation Alliance revealed that locals spend $2.14 billion every year on their activities on trails, open spaces and waters. That’s according to the Outdoor Industry Association report that will be released in its entirety next month, showing spending across the nation’s congressional districts.

WASHINGTON, FEB 16, 2018 – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced the selection of 15 priority areas to help address the more than $300 million trail maintenance backlog on national forests and grasslands.

REPRINTED FROM OUTDOOR INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION:

For the first time ever, outdoor recreation’s contributions are being counted as a unique part of United States gross domestic product (GDP). The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released a preliminary look at United States GDP outputs from outdoor recreation. The analysis shows that growth in the outdoor industry continues to outpace growth of the economy as a whole and accounts for over 2 percent of the entire United States GDP.

REPRINTED FROM OUTSIDE ONLINE MAGAZINE: 

One of RMFI's core values, stated in our strategic plan, is inclusiveness in partnerships. RMFI encourages strong and diverse partnerships through broad stakeholder and public participation. We encourage the engagement of a diverse population to get involved in our projects and programs. 

REPOSTED FROM WASHINTGTON POST

By Mary Gillis - 

Exposure to trees and other greenery has been shown to stave off depression in adults, and a new study finds the same may be true for teenagers.

Researchers looked at more than 9,000 children 12 to 18 and found those who lived in areas with a lot of natural vegetation were less likely to display high levels of depression symptoms. The effect was strongest among middle schoolers, the study team reports in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

NEW FOURTEENER CAMPAIGN IMPROVES TRAIL CONDITIONS THROUGH COLLABORATION AND INNOVATION

Colorado outdoor organizations work together to address mounting trail needs on Fourteeners

Denver, Colorado —January 2018— In 2017, the National Forest Foundation (NFF) invested nearly $500,000 on three Colorado 14,000-foot-peaks (“Fourteeners”) in desperate need of sustainable trails – Mount Elbert, Pikes Peak and Quandary Peak.

DENVER - Colorado mountain snowpack shrunk to record-low levels this week, raising concerns about water supply, and some federal authorities calculated even big late snow — if it falls — may not make up for the lag.

DENVER - The Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) Board awarded $20 million in grants to projects across Colorado on Friday.

In total, this round of grants will:

WHAT. A. YEAR!

Thanks to you, we had a hugely successful field season, accomplishing a tremendous amount of on-the-ground work that resulted in significant impacts for our public lands in Southern Colorado and the Pikes Peak Region. 

Total Volunteer/Worker Statistics:

There’s not a much better way to spend time than finding what you’re passionate about and using that passion to improve the world around you. You’ll even start to see yourself in a new light – as a leader, a catalyst to change, a champion. In my case, passion comes in the form of helping people, animals, and the environment, and, as a Bonner Fellow with Rocky Mountain Field Institute, I feel like I can do exactly that.

SHARED FROM OUTSIDE ONLINE - November 13, 2017:

Last month, the Center for Western Priorities, a Denver, Colorado–based nonprofit, published a comprehensive report that compared state public lands policy across the Mountain West. Eight states—Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico—were scored. The results were also discussed on the organization’s podcast, Go West, Young Podcast.

SHARED FROM THE DENVER POST:

Colorado ranks first among eight Western states for access to public lands, responsible energy development and outdoor recreation in a scorecard released Tuesday by the Center for Western Priorities.

The Denver-based nonprofit conservation and advocacy group’s Conservation Scorecard ranks Colorado at the top among Intermountain West states when it comes to protecting and enhancing public lands.

For the 2017-2018 shool year, RMFI is partnering with the Colorado College Collaborative for Community Engagement on that organization's pilot Bonner Fellowship program. RMFI's Bonner Fellow is Asa Hussain, a freshman hailing from Miami, Florida where he has participated in marine habitat restoration projects among other extracurricular endeavors of note.

The Pike National Forest has revised the closure order for Waldo Canyon to allow public access. The Order (PSICC-2017-22) rescinds parts of the previous closure that prohibited entry into Waldo Canyon. The many years of work by federal, state, local, and non-profit organizations has allowed for recovery of the land making public use of this part of El Paso County on the Pikes Peak Ranger District possible again.

The City's historic mountain park is set to get lots of attention over the next eight months as the City's Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Department teams up with community residents to develop an updated Master and Management Plan for the popular North Cheyenne Cañon Park.

SHARED FROM 5280 MAGAZINE: 

Trampled wildflowers. Eroded trails. Trash littering the forest floor. Piles of (not just dog) poop. These are not the images one conjures when thinking of Colorado’s postcard-perfect landscapes. But according to stewardship organizations and land managers across the state, these unfortunate scenarios are occurring with increasing frequency as our population and tourism numbers rise and as social-media-stoked enthusiasm for the outdoors sends more people traipsing through the Centennial State’s hallowed grounds.

In mid-August, RMFI concluded the 16th annual Earth Corps field studies program. Ten college students from across the nation (and Canada) and a small team of RMFI staff spent a month living, working, and learning in the Colorado backcountry. Early mornings that started with a hike to 13,000 feet gave way to long days working in the alpine to establish a new sustainable summit trail to Challenger Point (14,081') and Kit Carson Peak (14,170').

In just a few short years, Dirt Camp students have tripled in numbers. It’s not surprising given the set up of this weeklong course of field work and hands-on learning.

Rocky Mountain Field Institute teaches youth aged 10-12 about our mission of preserving and protecting Southern Colorado’s public landscapes. RMFI takes great pride in stewardship and education and spent the week sharing that pride with the campers in as many ways as possible.

Do you have it yet?  The fever? There can be a total eclipse of the sun somewhere in the world about once every 18 months, but this is the first time we have had a total eclipse cross the US from Pacific to Atlantic since 1918. Colorado Springs was just outside the path of totality for that one, but was a major player in the 1878 eclipse with scientists travelling here from back east to observe from the Pikes Peak observatory.

With RMFI’s third annual partnership with the Catamount Institute’s “Dirt Camp” this month, we felt the need to discuss the importance of introducing environmental concepts at a young age. Dirt Camp is a weeklong summer camp sponsored by the Catamount Institute. It allows children the opportunity to get their hands dirty by helping RMFI complete various conservation/restoration work projects in the Garden of the Gods.

A political resurgence among lawmakers to transfer federal public lands to individual states is gaining momentum.  This revival is reminiscent of the Sagebrush Rebellion and subsequent legislation considered by many western states during the late 1970s and 1980s.

In April 2017, the Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) released the third edition of the Outdoor Recreation Economy report. The report is the largest and most comprehensive report of its kind, and the numbers are simply staggering. The national outdoor recreation industry economy generates $887 billion in annual consumer spending, 7.6 million U.S. jobs, $65.3 billion in federal tax revenue, and another $59.2 billion in state and local tax revenue.

For the last 23 years, federal land management agencies, conservationists, volunteers, and outdoor enthusiasts have come together on the last Saturday of September to celebrate National Public Lands Day (NPLD). The annual holiday is characteristically observed with nationwide volunteer trail and restoration workdays, organized recreational opportunities, and free admission into all of the National Parks.

Public lands have been in the news a lot lately. From the appointment of a new Secretary of the Interior (and the horse he rode in on) to local conversation about a ballot initiative that would have proposed raising funds for our city parks and open spaces, our nation’s greatest assets are a big topic of conversation.

The 2016 field season was the biggest in the organization’s history in terms of staffing and project load. In all, we estimate to have grown by about 120% with the addition of 8 new project sites and the doubling of our seasonal field staff. We led a total of 444 workdays (many happening on the same weekend days) with a combined total of on-the-ground work exceeding 33,000 hours (16+ years worth of work).

While the RMFI staff is out with volunteers working to maintain trails, restore impacted areas, and build buff physiques (in other words doing what we do best), trail-users often stop to chat and see what we’re doing. Here are a few of the questions we are often asked.

1. Q: Why are you closing this trail?! I’ve walked my dog on this trail for years!

Long ago, when Colorado was covered with an inland sea, the parents of mankind prayed to the great spirits to remove the water. The spirits sent “Thirst”, a great Lizard Dragon, who drank all the water. His form remains as Colorado Springs’ own Cheyenne Mountain. Later the Cheyenne and Apaches came to the mountain for teepee poles, and the Utes retreated up the mountain’s ravines with their stolen horses, sometimes setting fires to block their pursuers.

This latest blog post comes to you from a 2016 Earth Corps program participant, Tracy Jacobs, who recently spent 30 days in the backcountry of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, helping to reconstruct the summit trail to Kit Carson Peak and Challenger Point. Her blog is a personal account of her experience. Read on for some inspiration!