Category Archives: News

ORR Builds New Tool for Rural Communities to Build Their Outdoor Recreation Economies

Outdoor Recreation Roundtable (ORR), working with Oregon State University’s Outdoor Recreation Economy Initiative and the National Governors Association Outdoor Recreation Learning Network, is helping rural communities build their outdoor recreation economies through a newly developed resource, the ORR Rural Economic Development Toolkit. Outdoor recreation is a powerful economic force nationally, generating $788 billion in economic…

ORR Supports Mayor Pete Buttigieg for Secretary of Transportation

Outdoor Recreation Roundtable offered strong support for the nomination of Mayor Pete Buttigieg to be the next Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) in a letter to the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee, specifically Chairwoman Cantwell and Ranking Member Wicker. The letter outlines the vital role transportation infrastructure will play in the next infrastructure…

Outdoor Recreation Roundtable Congratulates President Biden and Vice President Harris

“On behalf of more than thirty organizations that represent the 110,000 businesses and millions of employees nationwide that make up America’s outdoor recreation industry, ORR congratulates President Biden and Vice President Harris on their inauguration. ORR’s members represent America’s hunting, fishing, RVing, biking, hiking, camping, off-roading, diving, boating, horseback and skiing communities, among many others.…

ORR Statement on Biden Administration Nominees Critical to the Outdoor Recreation Industry

“ORR and our members congratulate former Secretary Tom Vilsack, Congresswoman Deb Haaland, former Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Katherine Tai on their nominations. While all cabinet level positions are vital to running an effective government, the outdoor recreation industry is particularly impacted by the policies and actions of the Departments of Agriculture, Interior, Transportation and the Office of the…

ORR Announces Communities Receiving Funding to Grow Rural Economies through Outdoor Recreation

Outdoor Recreation Roundtable (ORR), in partnership with The VF Foundation, is thrilled to announce four communities receiving funding this year to implement their economic revitalization plans through outdoor recreation projects, infrastructure or activities. The selected communities are Fryeburg, ME; Grants, NM; Jasper, AL; and John Day, OR. Another community — Glenwood Springs, CO — was…

ORR Showcases Need for LWCF Funding from Across the Outdoor Industry

Newly Fully-Funded LWCF will Grow Recreation Economies, Outdoor Access for All Americans Today, Outdoor Recreation Roundtable released the results of an industry-wide survey which collected key projects in need of funding from the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). With the passage of the Great American Outdoors Act earlier this year, LWCF now will receive…

ORR Teams with Federal Agencies to Help Rural Communities Grow their Economies through Outdoor Recreation

Outdoor Recreation Roundtable (ORR) is stepping up to help rural communities reinvigorate their local economies and create resilient communities through outdoor recreation thanks in large part to support from The VF Foundation. The Recreation Economy for Rural Communities assistance program, launched in 2019, is underway and ORR is working with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency…

Updated Government Report Highlights Outdoor Recreation’s Positive National Economic Impact and in Every State

The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released updated economic data on outdoor recreation’s powerful and positive economic impact on the U.S. economy showing $788 billion in economic output, comprising 2.1% of U.S. GDP and supporting 5.2 million jobs. The report includes national and state level data for both 2018 and 2019.  This is the third consecutive year that…

State of the Industry: ORR Survey Shows a Promising Outlook for the Outdoor Recreation Industry

Still, Nothing Will Make up for the Complete Closures This Past Spring An updated Outdoor Recreation Roundtable (ORR) member survey, in partnership with the Oregon State University Outdoor Recreation Economy Initiative, finds that the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the outdoor recreation industry is showing signs of easing, with some turnaround from what was a devastating spring for…

Passing Great American Outdoors Act is Just Beginning for the Outdoor Recreation Industry

Passing the Great American Outdoors Act was a huge accomplishment for the outdoor recreation industry and the thousands of businesses, large and small, that makeup the $778 billion recreation economy. Now that this huge achievement of fully funding the Land and Water Conservation Fund and allocating real funding for federal land management agencies’ deferred maintenance…