Outdoor Recreation Roadmap: Leverage Natural Assets for Economic Success & Local Renewal

Use the special discount code "TrailSkills" to save 15% on registration.

Six 1-hour video conference sessions
Thursdays, Oct. 10-Nov. 14, 2024, 10-11 AM PT/1-2 PM ET

Overview
The “outdoor recreation economy” is at the heart of a burgeoning development trend for rural areas and small cities. Outdoor recreation is among the country’s largest economic sectors, supporting 7.6 million U.S. jobs and adding more than $59 billion to state and local government coffers.

The U.S. Forest Service calls outdoor recreation a “growing and diverse economic super sector.” Most of the $887 billion spent on outdoor recreation each year goes to pay for the experience (travel costs, guides, lessons) while about 20% is spent on equipment, apparel, and other “stuff.” Here’s one way to interpret this: outdoor recreation offers many different entry points for communities looking for an economic leg up.

Even more important to understand as you look to improve, revitalize, or pull your community up by its bootstraps: investing in outdoor recreation earns dividends in healthier communities, healthier economies, and healthier people. According to the Forest Service, “outdoor recreation is no longer a ‘nice to have,’ it is now a ‘must-have’” for community resilience, competitiveness, and spirit. The Outdoor Recreation Industry Association calls it “an under-appreciated and underfunded weapon against crime, poor academic performance and rising health care costs.” Sure, they are industry advocates, but they are also right!

Whether they are old hands or just getting started, communities across the country—and around the world—are looking to outdoor recreation to play a bigger role in their community and economic development strategies, and even to anchor a new sense of common purpose, pride and care.

So how do you make this work for you? In this course, we drill down to the nitty gritty—how to bring your community together around outdoor recreation to generate more awareness and buy-in, make quick progress that can be sustained over time, and create meaningful changes that make a difference for your community’s business and economic vitality, physical health and confidence. You’ll learn a step-by-step process that you can adapt to use “nature-based placemaking” to transform how your community sees, talks about and invests in itself to make it a more attractive place to live, visit and do business.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

1. Strategic Planning and Implementation
Understand the diverse aspects of the outdoor recreation economy.
Identify specific strategies for tapping into various facets of the outdoor recreation economy.

2. Community Engagement and Asset Mapping
Learn techniques for assembling cross-sector planning teams and working with volunteers.
Engage the community in identifying assets, and opportunities, and understanding the role of outdoor recreation in the community's culture.

3. Development Strategy, Branding, and Stewardship
Map community assets, including hidden ones, and develop an outdoor recreation strategy.
Learn hands-on branding techniques to communicate the unique aspects of the community.
Incorporate destination and resource stewardship into all aspects of planning and implementation.

4. Research and Planning for Sustainability
Acquire skills in market analysis, feasibility studies, and research planning.
Integrate measurable outcomes into outdoor recreation projects while avoiding resource constraints.

5. Funding, Roadmap Development, and Resource Leveraging
Identify funding sources and how to leverage available resources.
Outline a comprehensive outdoor recreation roadmap for the community, emphasizing short-term progress for long-term sustainability.

PLUS ONE-ON-ONE COACHING
Your registration fee includes a post-course one-on-one or team consultation session to address your particular situation and needs.

WHO IS THIS FOR?
Community & economic development organizations and agency staff • Outdoor recreation user groups and organizations • Parks, trails and other recreational facilities managers • Chambers of Commerce & business alliances • Place-based & conservation organizations • Extension & community development professionals • Downtown & Main Street groups • Business owners & other community leaders

COURSE INSTRUCTOR
Michele Archie is a principal of The Harbinger Consultancy. She brings 30 years of experience with community engagement and community economic development in rural communities across the West and throughout the country to this course. Michele also leads Harbinger’s collaborative regional economic analyses, economic impact projections, visitor and resident surveys, outdoor recreation assessments, and peer area reviews. She is affiliated with the Destination Stewardship Center and the National Geotourism Council.


FEES & DETAILS
Every class will be presented live and available for replay in case you need to miss a session or want to review.

$525 regular course fee/$425 early registration discount through March 15, 2024

Group rates for two or more participants from the same organization or community — $425 per person regular group rate/$375 early registration discount

Learn more, including a session-by-session overview, at the training website linked here.

Location

This is a virtual training. See the event website for more details.

Trail Core Competencies

• Project Preparation
• • Define Purpose and Need of Project
• • Stakeholder Engagement

• Program Administration and Leadership
• • Communications
• • Education and Public Outreach
• • Funding/Grants
• • Partnership and Collaboration

Relevant Trail Types

• Accessible Trails
• Bicycling Trails
• Equestrian Trails
• Hiking Trails
• Long-distance Trails
• Mountain Biking Trails
• Motorized Trails
• Nature Trails
• Rail-Trails
• Rails with Trails
• Shared-Use Trails
• Urban Trails
• Utility Corridors
• Water Trails
• Winter - Nonmotorized Trails
• Winter - Motorized Trails