Montana agencies reveal five-year outdoor rec plan

Gov. Steve Bullock on Tuesday announced a five-year strategy to address issues and challenges facing Montana’s outdoor recreation industry.

“The plan addresses how we, as a state, can protect and enhance the outdoor recreation assets that sustain our economy and our livelihoods and support opportunities for residents and visitors alike,” Bullock said in a press release.

The 2020-2024 Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan was developed by an advisory committee with representatives from the public and private sectors; local, state and federal agencies including Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and the Bureau of Land Management; and advocacy organizations including the Montana Trails Coalition.

Every state is required to come up with an outdoor recreation plan to be eligible for the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund program. The program has given Montana $38 million in funding since 1965 to fund state and local projects.

“A statewide plan ensures Montanans are in the driver’s seat when it comes to growing and enhancing our outdoor recreation identity,” said Rachel VandeVoort, director of the Montana Office of Outdoor Recreation.

The new plan outlines several “high-level goals and recommendations” for the state.

One of those goals is to further promote outdoor recreation opportunities. The plan recommends the state “promote the integration of outdoor recreation and natural education in school curriculum” and “advocate for public/private partnerships to enhance education on stewardship, land ethics, Leave No Trace principles, and outdoor recreation-related skills.”

The plan highlights the Whitefish Legacy Partners and Whitefish Trails system as a successful example of providing new opportunities for outdoor recreation through partnerships between the public and private sectors.

To enhance public access to recreation, the plan suggests finding long-term funding for an “Access Coordinator,” a specialist position that works between public and private jurisdictions to “pursue key opportunities to increase public access to state trust lands.” The specialist would be tasked with establishing and strengthening partnerships between landowners, land trusts and outdoor recreationists.

Another key component of the plan is expanding outdoor recreation’s economic impact in Montana communities. According to the Outdoor Industry Association, outdoor recreation generates $7.1 billion in consumer spending in Montana, and according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis it creates more than 28,000 jobs.

To help spur investment in outdoor recreation, the plan suggests promoting data collection efforts and expanding workforce training and education for the outdoor recreation economy and industry. It also suggests expanding the Montana Office of Outdoor Recreation that was created because of the 2014-2018 Outdoor Recreation Plan.

“Since outdoor recreation is big business in Montana, it will be imperative that to promote and market outdoor recreation to residents and beyond,” the plan states.

In “facilitated group discussions” across Montana, participants said it was challenging to find grant opportunities for organizations in the outdoor recreation industry. The plan calls for creating a “one stop shop” for outdoor-recreation related grants “for greater transparency and utilization available for outdoor recreation projects.”

The plan also addresses the “changing environment” in which Montanans recreate, with much of this change attributed to climate change. It recommends outdoor recreation professionals “integrate with current natural hazard preparedness and response efforts.”

“Greater coordination and communication is needed between emergency management (e.g. first responders), community municipal departments (e.g. public health), and outdoor recreation managers to create clear and concise messaging to recreationists,” the plan states.

It acknowledges that climate hazards can influence where visitors and recreationists go – for example, fires in one section of Glacier National Park may create excessive crowds in another section of the park – and suggests an “interagency working group” to help outdoor recreation providers prepare for environmental change and “visitor use challenges” across Montana.

This includes collaborating with entities such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Montana Climate Office to help outdoor recreationists use relevant climate data.

The plan states in its conclusion it lacks the “robust data collection” that informed the previous plan, but adds a “comprehensive data collection effort” should take place before the next Outdoor Recreation Plan is released in approximately five years.

In the meantime, the 2019 plan “elevates and broadens the strategic plan to take action and I anticipate that it will take us and our outdoor way of life to a whole new level, setting the bar for state planning,” VandeVoort said.

Reporter Colin Gaiser may be reached at 758-4439 or cgaiser@dailyinterlake.com