If you live in Klamath County, it is highly likely you love the outdoors.
Many of us enjoy strolls in Moore Park, visits to Crater Lake National Park, hunting, fishing, watching the birds, riding horses, trail running, skiing, snowmobiling, mountain biking, hiking, and the list goes on. We are in good company — nationally; the economic impact of outdoor recreation is growing at a rate faster than other industries and economic drivers, and in Oregon, that growth is at an even faster pace than the rest of the country.
Consider this; the Bureau of Economic Analysis puts the contribution of outdoor recreation to the economy on par with food services, broadcasting and the telecom industries. The outdoor recreation industry supports 7.6 million jobs in America.
“Outdoor recreation is quickly becoming the life blood of Klamath County. At nearly $200 million a year in inbound tourism, more and more people from outside the region are realizing we have the makings of an epic outdoor adventure” said Jim Chadderdon of Discover Klamath.
Basic needs
In addition to the economic impacts, recreation fulfills a basic need for fun translating into improved health and wellness. Soon, your doctor may start “prescribing” time outdoors! Studies show outside time reduces the risk of obesity, reduces stress, helps treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in children, and help treat post-traumatic stress disorder in veterans. Outdoor recreation is a powerful strategy for diverting at-risk youth from anti-social behaviors and for skill building in people with special needs.
Gov. Kate Brown established the Governor’s Task Force on the Outdoors earlier this year. I am pleased to serve on the task force with almost two dozen leaders from the outdoor industry, outdoor groups, land managers, government, tourism, and nonprofits.
Our task force focuses on three key areas: how do we improve the economic impact of recreation in our communities; how do we increase participation in outdoor recreation, particularly by groups who haven’t traditionally joined in, and finally, how do we balance preserving our outdoor gems while increasing access to them. We have a lot of work to do!
Governor’s list
We are brainstorming and now refining more than one hundred concepts related to these three areas to narrow them to a manageable list to present to the governor in the spring.
Overall, we want to elevate the conversation around the importance of outdoor recreation in Oregon. Almost 70 percent of people recently surveyed said they participated in the outdoors. Oregon residents are also, statistically, more likely to participate in hiking and camping than the average American.
Failing to plan for an increase in this area would be unwise.
It is an exciting time to dream about shaping the future of our outdoors and for Klamath County to participate in the conversation.
Contributed by: Kelley Minty Morris | Klamath County Commissioner