OUTDOOR RECREATION & GATEWAY COMMUNITIES

Outdoor recreation and tourism are economic forces that rural communities are increasingly experiencing and grappling with, particularly gateway communities situated near national parks, public lands, or scenic amenities. These activities offer diversification opportunities for the local economy, and in some areas, are becoming an integral part of the vitality of rural communities. They also interact strongly with environmental stewardship and can play a central role in the socio-cultural well-being of rural communities. However, these activities bring with them pressures, challenges, and complex tradeoffs that affect the social, economic, and environmental fabric of each community. Research and Extension programs are finding ways to help communities recognize and navigate them.

In the West:

  • 23% of the U.S. population
  • 34% of all U.S. National Park visits
  • Nearly 5 million jobs associated with outdoor recreation
  • 10.8% of Western farms engage in agritourism or direct-to-comsumer sales (7.5% at the national level)
a bike rider, riding on a winding road in the mountains

Recognizing these strategic stakes, the National Extension Tourism Network’s Outdoor Recreation Workgroup (NEORWG) efforts are focused on exploring Extension’s role in the outdoor recreation economy and advocating for the Extension system to more strategically and holistically bring its existing programming, unique perspectives, skills, expertise, and connections into this emerging sector. 

The NEORWG hosts monthly virtual meetings to facilitate national collaboration among Extension professionals who are either working directly within the outdoor recreation economy or engaging with it tangentially through their programs or by virtue of some aspect of outdoor recreation that impacts the communities they serve. These meetings provide a platform for sharing resources, discussing best practices, and exploring opportunities for program development. As this national effort has gained traction, it has become clear that regional differences should be examined within regional workgroups.  

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map of outdoor recreation and agritourism.

Since early 2024 the Western workgroup of the NEORWG has been meeting to discuss and explore regional challenges and opportunities and share these insights with the NEORWG. 

In 2024, Dr. Doug Arbogast in partnership with the NEORWG conducted an assessment that evaluated the capacity of Land Grant Universities to provide both Extension and research support for the development of recreation economies nationally and by region. This assessment identified several Land Grant Universities in the western region where Extension programs are engaging in the outdoor recreation economy. It also highlighted the West’s unique mix of vast public lands, iconic gateway communities, and existing reliance on outdoor recreation as a keystone for the western tourism economy.  

Resources

  • Arbogast, D., Goetz, S. Devlin, K., (2024). Land-Grant University Capacity to Support Recreation Economies Across U.S. Regions. National Extension Tourism and Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development.
  • Arbogast, D., & Powell, J. (2023). Engaging the Outdoor Sector’s Growth. National Extension Tourism.
  • Locate colleagues engaged on Outdoor Recreation Economy on the map.

Building from the information in Dr. Arbogast’s study, the Western Region workgroup has been working to broaden its network of Extension professionals, identify and explore examples of Extension programs engaging in outdoor recreation, and seek funding to better understand who is working in this space, and how we might collaboratively advance Extension’s role in the outdoor recreation ecosystem. 

The working group benefits from the WRDC’s support to emphasize their effort in the Western continental regions and in Pacific Territories. Their common aim is to reinforce collaboration across the West. 

In that perspective, the working group recently got awarded a Multistate seeding grant. 

The Multistate grant: Investigating Extension’s Scope and Role in Outdoor Recreation in the West: Attitudes, Challenges, and Opportunities

  • Through this project, the group aims at understanding Extension’s current and potential engagement in outdoor recreation in the West. This is a steppingstone in getting a new understanding of:
    • The state-by-state impact of outdoor recreation on the communities and economies within the Region.
    • The ways Extension could benefit each state’s outdoor recreation infrastructure and programs.
    • How Extension’s leaders view Extension’s current role, challenges and future opportunities in outdoor recreation.
  • Project duration: 1 year
  • Main Stakeholders:
    • Utah State University Extension
    • Montana State University Extension
    • University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension
    • University of Wyoming

Utah State University, Institute of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism: Institute of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism | USU 
 
Utah State University, Gateway & Natural Amenity Region: Gateway & Natural Amenity Region (GNAR) Initiative | GNAR | USU 
 
University of Montana, Institute of Tourism and Recreation Research: https://www.umt.edu/tourism-recreation-research/ University of California, Outdoor Recreation Partnership: Home – California Outdoor Recreation Partnership 
 
University of Wyoming, Wyoming Outdoor Recreation, Tourism, and Hospitality Initiative: Wyoming Outdoor Recreation, Tourism, and Hospitality (Worth) Initiative 
 
Colorado Outdoor Recreation Industry Office: Colorado Outdoor Recreation Industry Office | Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade