On behalf of the growing $788 billion outdoor industry, the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable expresses our strong support for quickly advancing bipartisan infrastructure legislation. We appreciate the hard work by President Biden, members of his administration and the US Senate to come to an agreement on a broad and impactful bipartisan infrastructure package that invests in our local communities, our public lands and waters, and our people.
“This infrastructure package represents an extraordinary bipartisan opportunity to not only rebuild our crumbling roads, bridges and airports, but also to improve the infrastructure behind our beloved public lands and waters,” said Jessica Turner, executive director of the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable. “Meaningful investments in transportation, public lands, rural development, and natural infrastructure connect more people to the outdoors and strengthen the outdoor recreation economy, which creates jobs, helps us to remain globally competitive, and ensures we recover from the impacts the pandemic had on jobs, local communities, our health and our quality of life. We encourage Congress to advance bipartisan infrastructure legislation and look forward to working with Congress, the administration and their teams on any provisions that would provide needed investments to outdoor recreation.”
Throughout the pandemic, Americans turned to outdoor recreation for health and wellness, transportation, and to safely connect with family and friends. Record numbers of people are accessing the outdoors and there continues to be a growing demand for quality outdoor infrastructure investments. When Americans participate in outdoor recreation, they purchase gear, equipment, food, lodging and more, and contribute tens of billions of dollars in annual tax revenue to federal coffers. Much of America’s recreation infrastructure on federally managed lands and waters is also associated with revenue streams that fund conservation programs – fishing and hunting licenses; entrance and activity fees; campground, slip and launch fees; recreation permits and registration fees; and excise and fuel taxes. Additionally, studies have confirmed that for every dollar Congress invests in the National Park Service, $10 is returned to the U.S. economy, which directly benefits our nation’s rural areas and gateway communities.