A Cross-Sector Effort Positions the Outdoors as a Scalable, Upstream Economic Solution for Public Health
WASHINGTON, D.C. [April 20, 2026] – Outdoor Recreation Roundtable (ORR) today launched America’s Outdoor Era, a bold national vision to reposition outdoor recreation as a cornerstone of U.S. health infrastructure. The initiative will align national policy, private investments, and healthcare partnerships to combat rising rates of chronic illness, a growing mental health crisis, and the burden of national healthcare spending.
America’s Outdoor Era frames the $1.3 trillion outdoor recreation economy – which already supports 5.2 million jobs – as a ready-made upstream solution to prevent illness before it starts and help with treatment of chronic conditions. This national strategy to help Americans get outside can improve health outcomes, prevent costly downstream interventions, and grow a key sector of the U.S. economy.
“We have a choice,” said Jessica Turner, President of Outdoor Recreation Roundtable. “Will we accept a future where nature disconnection and chronic illness become our norm? Or will we build a health system where time outdoors is core to living well? The infrastructure exists. What remains is alignment across health systems, insurers, educators, and policymakers to activate a solution that is already within reach.”
America’s Outdoor Era lays out a comprehensive strategic roadmap to turn outdoor recreation into a measurable national health outcome through three critical pillars:
- Infrastructure and Investment: Expanding recreation infrastructure and access and ensuring sustainable funding so that every American can get outside close to home.
- Health Systems and Institutions: Building stronger partnerships between the health care sector and the outdoor economy to integrate outdoor activity into prevention and care strategies.
- Culture and Messengers: Elevating trusted voices – from doctors and community leaders to coaches and veterans – to champion time outside as a powerful tool for health and resilience.
To catalyze the vision, ORR will convene a first-of-its-kind National Executive Forum on Health and Outdoor Recreation in Washington, D.C. this May. The invite-only Forum will unite outdoor recreation CEOs, healthcare and pharmaceutical executives, and state and federal policymakers to develop a forward-looking agenda for scaling outdoor recreation as a national health strategy.
The launch comes as recent policy wins provide a foundation for change. Twenty four states have created offices of outdoor recreation across the country. The bipartisan EXPLORE Act was signed into law to provide new authorities that expand the role of outdoor recreation in education, innovation, and public-private partnerships, opening doors for scalable health applications. The Legacy Restoration Fund directs billions of dollars into our recreation infrastructure each year. What remains is alignment — across health systems, insurers, educators, planners, and lands stewards — to activate a solution already within reach.
“Integrating outdoor access into health strategy is a practical, bipartisan, and scalable opportunity,” Turner added. “By aligning policies, investments, and partnerships across sectors, we can improve public health, reduce long-term healthcare costs, steward the lands and waters that sustain us, and unlock a new era of wellbeing in America.”
For more information on America’s Outdoor Era and the upcoming National Executive Forum, please visit https://recreationroundtable.org/priorities/healthvision/