Go outside: New report stresses the importance of outdoor rec

OLYMPIA – Outdoor recreation is critical to the health of residents and the economy of Washington, and should be treated it as an essential government service like transportation and public safety, concludes a draft report issued Tuesday.

Washington should designate outdoor recreation as an industry and establish an agency to promote access to and activities on local, state and federal lands, the report recommends.

In addition, the panel called for securing new sources of revenue to ensure full funding of the state parks system.

Changes must be made in the Discover Pass program so it is no longer a barrier to some would-be enthusiasts on state recreation lands, the report states.

And the 29-member panel also suggests outdoor recreation be included in the core curriculum in public schools.

“Outdoor recreation is not just fun and games. Outdoor recreation is essential to who we are, to our quality of life, and it strengthens our sense of what it means to be a community,” task force members wrote in the report.

“We can and must act now to ensure the stewardship of our parks and public lands, to inspire our children to live a life grounded in experiencing recreation in the great outdoors and to nurture a vital and growing business sector.”

The Washington Blue Ribbon Task Force on Parks and Outdoor Recreation is collecting public comments on its draft report through Sept. 4. It will deliver its final recommendations to Gov. Jay Inslee on Sept. 19.

Outdoor recreation is a major industry in Washington and one often overshadowed in a state dominated by aerospace and technology firms and agriculture.

A report issued in 2013 by the Outdoor Industry Association found $22.5 billion is spent annually in Washington on outdoor recreation. The industry supports 226,600 jobs and generates $1.6 billion in state and local tax revenues, according to the report.

Inslee directed the task force to come up with ideas for marketing the industry to tourists and funding state parks. He also requested members offer different ways of getting children to spend more time recreating in the outdoors as part of his goal to help stem the spread of childhood obesity.

The panel, which began work in April, held five public meetings around the state. It also received 3,000 comments from residents at the meetings and through an online site.

A panel leader said many of those ideas will get mention on the final product.

“The number one message is that today’s reality and the future potential of the outdoor economy are both so much larger than we recognize and our outdoors is just taken for granted,” said Barb Chamberlain, executive director of Washington Bikes and a co-chairwoman of the panel.

“We have incredible natural capital in this state,” she said. “It is something that can be lost if you don’t pay attention to it.”

Panel members came from the private, public and nonprofit sectors. They included representatives of REI, Outdoor Research, The Wilderness Society, Trust for Public Land, Sierra Club and Washington Tourism Alliance.

The report is posted online at http://rco.wa.gov/boards/TaskForce.shtml.

Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623; jcornfield@heraldnet.com and on Twitter at @dospueblos.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Lynnwood
Crash in Lynnwood fully blocks Highway 99

The crash, on Highway 99 at 176th Street SW, fully blocked southbound lanes. Traffic was diverted to 168th Street SW.

The view of Mountain Loop Mine out the window of a second floor classroom at Fairmount Elementary on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County: Everett mining yard violated order to halt work next to school

At least 10 reports accused OMA Construction of violating a stop-work order next to Fairmount Elementary. A judge will hear the case.

Imagine Children's Museum's incoming CEO, Elizabeth "Elee" Wood. (Photo provided by Imagine Children's Museum)
Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett will welcome new CEO in June

Nancy Johnson, who has led Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett for 25 years, will retire in June.

Kelli Littlejohn, who was 11 when her older sister Melissa Lee was murdered, speaks to a group of investigators and deputies to thank them for bringing closure to her family after over 30 years on Thursday, March 28, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘She can rest in peace’: Jury convicts Bothell man in 1993 killing

Even after police arrested Alan Dean in 2020, it was unclear if he would stand trial. He was convicted Thursday in the murder of Melissa Lee, 15.

Ariel Garcia, 4, was last seen Wednesday morning in an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Dr. (Photo provided by Everett Police)
Search underway to find missing Everett child, 4

Ariel Garcia was last seen Wednesday morning at an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Drive.

The rezoned property, seen here from the Hillside Vista luxury development, is surrounded on two sides by modern neighborhoods Monday, March 25, 2024, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Despite petition, Lake Stevens OKs rezone for new 96-home development

The change faced resistance from some residents, who worried about the effects of more density in the neighborhood.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.