The outdoor recreation economy is reaching new heights

If you live in Colorado you likely spent some time outside this summer — hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park, rafting down the Arkansas River, climbing the flatirons, or flyfishing the Blue. Those times spent with friends and family are priceless and should be remembered.

The other factor to remember, in enjoying Colorado’s outdoors, is that you helped bolster one of the most dynamic and strongest economic engines in our region — the outdoor recreation economy.

Exploring and enjoying the outdoors is an ingrained part of our natural heritage but this is the first year that the federal government has recognized outdoor recreation as an unique sector of the United States economy.

The Recreation Jobs and Economic Impact Act was sponsored by Sens. Cory Gardner, RColo., and Jeanne Shaheen, DN.H., and passed unanimously in 2016. Thanks to the act, last week, the Bureau of Economic Analysis — the government agency responsible for calculating U.S. gross domestic product — recognized the outdoor recreation industry in its calculations for the first time continuing to give us a better understanding of just how important the outdoor recreation industry is to the national economy.

They found that this sector makes up an astonishing 2.2 percent of the nation’s GDP and accounts for $734 billion in annual gross economic output, ranking the outdoor recreation industry ahead of mining and utilities. The data also show that the outdoor recreation economy is growing at a rapid pace, exceeding even the booming U.S. economy overall.

This data supports the $887 billion consumers spend on recreation each year and is great news for the economic health of our region.

As the CEO of SCARPA North America, proudly headquartered in Colorado like many other outdoor recreation companies, I can speak firsthand to how important the outdoor recreation sector is to our local economy.

Colorado is now home to the largest industry trade shows in North America — Outdoor Retailer Summer and Winter Markets, and Outdoor Retailer and Snow Show. And in Colorado alone, the outdoor recreation economy generates $28 billion a year in consumer spending, em ploys nearly 230,000 people, paying nearly $10 billion in wages and salaries. We are a true economic engine in the Centennial State.

Ensuring continued growth of this sector will be critical to maintaining a healthy economy for Colorado. As a member of the Outdoor Industry Association, our industry’s trade association, and a coalition of other national trade association, the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable, we are all working to partner to protect and expand access to America’s public lands and waters and improve the visitor experience so that all Americans have an opportunity to enjoy our national treasures.

Key to achieving these outcomes will be the passage of legislation that helps people get outside like Recreation Not Red Tape, reauthorizing and fully funding the Land and Water Conservation Fund and funding the maintenance backlog on our public lands.

The outdoor recreation economy is a force in Colorado and throughout the country — this new data is just one more proof point.

Through commonsense approaches to managing our public lands, and a renewed commitment to what makes Colorado so special for so many, we can ensure a strong outdoor recreation economy for generations. Justin Mock, Vice President of Finance and CFO; Bill Reynolds, Senior VP, Circulation and Production; Bob Kinney, Vice President, Information Technology