outdoor recreation

REPRINTED FROM OUTSIDE ONLINE MAGAZINE: 

Outdoor recreation is an economic colossus: its reach is massive, its wealth enormous, and its influence continues to grow as more boots hit the ground. You can see it in Joshua Tree’s crowded campgrounds or in Mount Tam’s trailhead parking lots; in the Appalachian Trail’s thru-hiking numbers or in REI’s record sales. Americans are heading outdoors in huge numbers and paying handsomely for the privilege. But how much, precisely? For years the industry’s contribution to the nation’s economy was as much guesswork as fact.

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.

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.

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. The rhetoric of the Sagebrush Rebellion is similar to current initiatives arguing for greater state government control or outright ownership of federal public lands.  This movement is concentrated in western states because much of the eastern U.S.

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.