As the 115th Congress prepares to return for a short “lame duck session,” members of the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable’s (ORR) government relations committee are hard at work urging passage of key legislation reflecting ORR’s policy agenda. ORR members are seeking funding for continuing and expanding the Outdoor Recreation Satellite Account, which measures the economic impact of outdoor…
Washington, D.C. (November 1, 2018) – The Recreational Trails Program (RTP) has aided trail construction and maintenance projects and programs nationwide since 1991. Created through landmark surface transportation legislation, RTP reflected Congressional belief that federal gas taxes paid on motorfuel used in motorized nonhighway recreational activities should be used to benefit those paying the tax…
The outdoor recreation industry is big, growing bigger, and attracting new attention from the Congress and the Administration! Last month, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross appeared on Capitol Hill and described the outdoor recreation industry as one of the nation’s largest and fastest growing. At 2.2% of the nation’s GDP, $734 billion in gross annual output,…
The Outdoor Recreation Roundtable’s social media channels serve as a one-stop resource for the latest information on the outdoor recreation economy, industry media coverage and events, policy updates from Capitol Hill and state legislatures, and so much more! It only takes a minute to add us to your network, so take advantage of all these…
Everyone knows how important the U.S. Department of the Interior, the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are to outdoor recreation, right? After all, they manage hundreds of millions of acres of our nation’s public lands and waters and welcome hundreds of millions of recreation visits each year. But did you…
It’s official! Vicki Christiansen was sworn in as U.S. Forest Service Chief by Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on Thursday, October 11. Ms. Christiansen served as Interim Chief from March 8 – October 10, 2018. Prior to then, she served as Deputy Chief for State and Private Forestry where she was responsible for oversight of Fire…
The outdoor recreation industry is good for the economy. On September 20, it was made official with the release of the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis’ (BEA) first-ever final Outdoor Recreation Satellite Account (ORSA) report. The release of the data is a significant milestone, and the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable has been busy advancing the organization’s…
The U.S. House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee September 27 unanimously approved H.R.5158 – which directs the Secretary of Transportation to reopen the nomination process for National Scenic Byways and All-American Roads. The bill – introduced by U.S. Representatives David Cicilline (D-RI) and Ted Poe (R-TX) – was revised through an amendment offered by…
Be sure to give back to your public lands and waters this coming Saturday, September 22 – the 25th annual National Public Lands Day (NPLD)! Coordinated by the National Environmental Education Foundation and nationally sponsored by Toyota Motor North America, NPLD is the nation’s largest, single-day volunteer event for public lands and waters. On Saturday, nearly 200,000 volunteers will plant…
Report Formally Recognizes Outdoor Recreation Among Nation’s Largest Sectors Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross Helps Brief Capitol Hill on Outdoor Recreation Economy – Photo Credit: Risdon Photography Washington, D.C. (September 20, 2018) – The Outdoor Recreation Roundtable (ORR) today welcomed the final report on the first-ever government statistics recognizing the outdoor recreation industry as a significant…