Over the next several weeks, Outdoor Recreation Roundtable (ORR) and its members will be promoting a video on social media that highlights various outdoor recreation activities, its economy, and the job it supports while urging Americans to explore the outdoors and recreate.
The group released the video on the same day the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee passed the first-ever recreation package.
According to a press release, apart from showcasing the $689 billion outdoor recreation economy and the over 4.3 million jobs it supports, the video also emphasizes how the outdoor recreation industry boosts local and national economies as well as how outdoor recreation has been a fun, healthy respite for many over the past two years and will continue to be in the future.
“I don’t think our nation has seen the positive impacts outdoor recreation has had on Americans’ physical, mental and economic health in such a tangible way as we have over the past several years,” said Jessica Turner, president of Outdoor Recreation Roundtable.
“Now is the time to remind the nation and our elected officials how the outdoors and the recreation economy helped us get through the pandemic and how we can bring more to people, communities, and economies with bills like the recreation package. We hope Americans continue to get outside to improve their lives and, like the video states, nowadays we could all use a little less zoom and a little more vroom!”
Additionally, America’s Outdoor Recreation Act of 2022, passed by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources committee earlier this week, includes the Simplifying Outdoor Access for Recreation (SOAR) Act, the Outdoor Recreation Act, Recreation Not Red-Tape, among other bipartisan and pragmatic outdoor recreation legislation.
ORR sent a letter to the committee last year urging them to pass this much-needed legislation as soon as possible to, “help manage already existing conserved lands and waters in order to support businesses recovering from COVID-19, and now impacted by wildfires and drought, ensure better access to the outdoors for all Americans, mitigate the impacts of climate change and ever-increasing visitation in some areas on the outdoor experience and create jobs by supporting rural economies and communities.”
Turner added, “We applaud Chairman Manchin and Ranking Member Barrasso for crafting the first-ever Outdoor Recreation Package and helping to pass it out of committee. We now urge the full Congress to pass it this year to continue the tremendous momentum and impact of the outdoor recreation economy.”
Click here to watch the video and here to know more about the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable.
Isn’t it exciting to see the ORR’s new campaign promoting sustainable outdoor practices and collaboration with industry partners for diverse community engagement? *thumbs up*