Outdoor Recreation Roundtable Launches ’25 in 2025′ – RVBusiness – Breaking RV Industry News
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Outdoor Recreation Roundtable (ORR), along with the Confluence of States and over 110 leading outdoor recreation organizations from across the United States – including the RV Industry Association (RVIA), RV Dealers Association (RVDA) and OHI, the national association representing the outdoor hospitality industry – launched the ‘25 in 2025’ campaign with a challenge to states to create the 25th office of outdoor recreation in this calendar year, following 24 other states who have created such offices since 2013. In the coming months, the campaign will highlight the accomplishments and importance of existing offices of outdoor recreation with new resources and research that will culminate in a convening this fall to celebrate the 25th state.
Jessica Wahl Turner, president of the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable, applauded the campaign’s launch, stating, “Few stories represent the bipartisan importance of outdoor recreation better than the 24 states from coast to coast who have created offices of outdoor recreation in just over a decade. These offices are leaders on new initiatives and investments in outdoor recreation for states across the country, creating new economic development, conservation, and public health potential. We are thrilled to highlight the powerful accomplishments of current offices of outdoor recreation over the year and look forward to celebrating the 25thstate together.”
“The 25 in 2025 campaign isn’t just a goal—it’s a call to action for every state to get involved. It’s a vision of a future where every state has an office dedicated to unlocking the full potential of our outdoor spaces,” said Katherine Andrews, 2025 chair of the Confluence of States and director of the Arkansas Office of Outdoor Recreation. “Over the past 12 years, since Utah pioneered the first office in 2013, we’ve seen firsthand how these offices can make a real difference. States across the country have successfully created initiatives that enhance access, protect natural spaces, grow outdoor economies, and foster outdoor recreation. We are incredibly excited to be part of this national movement, and hope it inspires states to invest in their outdoor communities. The work we do today will echo for generations, ensuring that our outdoor spaces remain vibrant, accessible, and protected for future generations to enjoy and cherish.”
The first state office of outdoor recreation was created by Utah Governor Gary Herbert in 2013, recognizing the critical role of outdoor recreation to Utah’s identity, economic competitiveness, and community health. Since that time, nearly half the country has created these offices through executive action or legislation, placing offices or divisions in various agencies to catalyze new growth in their states’ outdoor recreation economies and access for all. A map with all states that have created offices of outdoor recreation can be found here.
Today’s campaign launch also includes the launch of a new resource called “How to Create an Office of Outdoor Recreation.” This new tool aggregates best practices that helped other states create offices of outdoor recreation and will be displayed alongside several other resources that ORR has created in partnership with the Confluence of States, including A Guidebook to Developing Offices of Outdoor Recreation, Strategies to Support Offices of Outdoor Recreation, Pathways and Structures for Offices of Outdoor Recreation, The Value of Offices of Outdoor Recreation, and more, located on ORR’s state resource page. During the year, additional resources related to the importance of offices of outdoor recreation will be released to help stimulate new investment in existing offices of outdoor recreation.
’25 in 2025’ follows a historic year for the outdoor recreation economy that included passage of the EXPLORE Act, the most comprehensive update to outdoor recreation policy in recent history, as well as a new data release from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis showing that outdoor recreation generated $1.2 trillion (2.3% of GDP) and 5 million jobs for the U.S. economy in 2023, growing 36% in real terms since 2012.
About ORR
The Outdoor Recreation Roundtable is the nation’s leading coalition of outdoor recreation associations representing the more than 110,000 outdoor businesses in the recreation economy and the full spectrum of outdoor-related activities. The most recent data from the U.S. Department of Commerce shows that outdoor recreation generated $1.2 trillion in economic output (2.3% of GDP), 5 million jobs and comprises 3.1% of U.S. employees.
