Follow the Leaders
By Berne Broudy
When Pitt Grewe, director of Utah’s Office of Outdoor Recreation (OREC), started his job in early March, he already had half a dozen balls in the air: protecting iconic and beloved places in a state keen to grant oil and gas leases, making Utah’s outdoors welcoming to all while shielding small communities from COVID-carrying visitors, and strategizing to help Utah’s outdoor businesses recover from shutdowns and travel restrictions.
Like the other 15 OREC offices and task forces in the U.S., Utah OREC’s plate was overflowing with opportunities to provide leadership in crisis. And, like his counterparts, Grewe stepped up to the plate.
Walking the Tightrope
In the past months, Washington’s director of outdoor recreation has spent more than 80% of his time on COVID-related planning. Director Jon Snyder has been key in authoring a reopening plan for Washington’s 7.6 million people and 100,000 businesses and organizations.
“When we created our four-phase framework for ‘Safe Start Washington,’ reopening recreation was baked into our plan,” says Snyder. Snyder wrote or co-wrote the outdoor recreation guidance for Washington’s reopening, and he has done the vast majority of the stakeholder work. When we spoke, Snyder was working on new rules for overnight summer camps. As director of Washington’s OREC, he has introduced nuance into guidelines.“If we don’t fully understand the details of an activity, it’s hard to make proper rules,” says Snyder.
It’s taxing work. “Every day there is a stack of inquiries we have to make decisions on,” says Snyder. “On one side, people lose their jobs, their livelihoods. On the other side, people get sick and die. We are trying to reduce harm without destroying the economy and to give people any sense of normalcy we can. It’s a tricky path.”
“At the same time, the virus has laid bare all these inequities in our society that are so large already, and it’s made them tons worse,” continues Snyder. “My work to restore getting people into the outdoors isn’t worth anything if our Black residents don’t feel safe or if outdoor spaces feel unwelcoming.”
Getting Back to Work
One of Grewe’s first projects in his new role is working with the Utah legislature on a new Civilian Conservation Corps. Grewe compiled a list of shovel-ready outdoor recreation and active transportation projects for the legislature that, if funded, will get people in rural counties and people who work in tourism back on the payroll.
“We’re looking at trail projects and infrastructure projects and considering what will best boost the economy,” said Grewe. “A lot of Utah’s recreation infrastructure was built 100 years ago by the original CCC, which illustrates the investment proposition of this idea.”
Promising projects include a visitor center near Brian Head Ski Resort, a bike path connecting Hurricane and Springdale, and completion of the Bonneville Shoreline Trail, a 220-mile trail from Logan to the south end of Provo. If the legislature approves funding, Utah’s OREC, with the offices of Tourism and Agricultural Development, will administer grants to complete the projects.
Equality
New Mexico’s director of outdoor recreation, Axie Navas, is juggling just as many balls as Snyder and Grewe. Her office’s main priorities include inclusivity and education. “It’s been the focus of our office since it was created,” said Navas. “It was written into statute.”
With school-age kids out of the classroom in spring 2020, and uncertainty around school reopenings in September, Navas and her colleagues are exploring opportunities for outdoor programming. She’s also finalizing the first rewards from the newly-created Outdoor Equity Fund, a grant program that invests in transformative recreation for New Mexico’s 18-and-under kids in low-income communities. In August, the first grants will go to tribal governments, regional and local governments, and nonprofits.
“Given the conversation in this country around racial injustice and equity, this is a critical investment,” said Navas. “I hope other states or the country as a whole will emulate it.”
In the meantime, New Mexico’s OREC awarded a COVID-19-specific grant for a mobile ride center in Gallup, one of the New Mexico areas hardest hit by COVID. The grant funds a mobile bike shop staffed by Myron Billy, pro mountain bike mechanic with Luna/Team Clif Bar, who will travel to Navajo Nation communities to fix kids’ bikes. “Bikes are how kids who can’t drive get around,” says Navas. “This program fills a real need. It will make sure kids can be mobile and active.”
Recreate Responsibly
The benefits of outdoor recreation aren’t just keeping active people high on endorphins. Outdoor recreation is a huge economic driver for many states. With limited interstate and intercontinental tourism right now, ORECs are campaigning for locals to explore close to home, working to educate new enthusiasts on proper conduct, and encouraging experienced outdoors people not to be elitist. In New Mexico, the New Mexico True campaign—a collaboration between Navas’ office, NM Tourism, and other departments—is encouraging best practices and trying to manage real threats, like wildfires, with education and information.
In Maine, the Adventure Local campaign encourages Mainers to recreate responsibly. “Through the whole process, we’re recognizing how important the outdoors is to people, and we’re watching new people come in,” said Maine’s OREC director, Carolann Oullette. “We’re working to educate Mainers on how to be safe and find adventure close to home.”
Showing Outdoor Rec the Money
While he’s waiting for CCC-style projects to be approved, Grewe is administering Cares Act–funded grants. Utah’s Office of Economic Development committed $25 million for a Shop Utah program. In the outdoor sector, if a company offers $50 off a raft trip this summer, it qualifies for $100 of CARES money. Grewe’s office is encouraging Utah residents to book fishing guides and bike guides, while also coaching businesses on how to qualify for the money.
Connecting, Convening, Cheerleading
“Sometimes I feel like we’re more of a resource than a leader,” said Oullette. “We spend a lot of time answering business’ questions about accessing resources or complying with the Governor’s orders.”
But Oullette may not be giving her office credit. Maine was one of the first to reopen the outdoors and to show it could work. As part of a 10-year economic-development strategy, Maine’s OREC is exploring how to maximize infrastructure investments, workforce attraction, and community development, and raising awareness of the outdoor industry overall.
Continuing Ed
Utah’s annual Outdoor Summit brings together stakeholders statewide, including the industry, land managers, not-for-profits, tourism officials, and OREC directors from other states. “We have panels and speakers on sustaining and growing Utah recreation without overrunning it,” said Grewe. “We talk about the infrastructure and leadership we need to be able to welcome people to recreate in Utah and to encourage people to move here.”
In 2020, the August conference—the theme is Outdoors Together—will pivot to a hybrid event with pre-recorded panelists and in-person sessions. Grewe hopes other ORECs will attend remotely and pull together stakeholders from their states for meaningful discussions on sharing land, caring for new outdoor users, and supporting burgeoning outdoor businesses.
Collaboration is key
New Mexico’s OREC website is a hub for openings and closures, with guidelines to keep people and the state’s public lands safe. Navas has twice-monthly calls with state land managers—they were twice weekly at the beginning of COVID—to analyze recreation patterns and strategize on communicating with users. She’s also online for regular OREC calls, seminars, and webinars sponsored by the National Governors Association and the signatories of the Confluence of States.
“It’s been hugely helpful,” says Navas. “We learn what works and what hasn’t from each other.”
Bureaucracy can be a burden. But states with ORECs are ahead of the curve, helping residents and visitors recreate safely, while protecting the resource, and working to keep business alive and well in tough times. Navas’ office is the “connective tissue“ between state financial support and businesses. Ouellette has served on countless committees including ones to help Maine’s outdoor businesses pivot to producing PPE. Her office is a key partner in making sure that visitor facing-businesses, like outfitters and guides, know where to go for the resources they need. Grewe is writing checks and making connections. And Snyder is painstakingly writing policy that reflects the subtleties of every activity he is tasked with considering from playground and pools to guided rafting and lift-served biking. Each OREC is taking a slightly different approach, but in any state with and OREC, both recreationists and outdoor businesses are winning.