The Outdoor Recreation Roundtable (ORR), a lobbying association that counts dozens of outdoor recreation and conservation groups among its membership, has issued its annual report for 2021. In it, the nonprofit details how it has been interacting with lawmakers and its efforts to engage the public at large.
“2021 was another incredible year for the outdoor recreation industry, full of challenges, opportunities, and cross-sector collaboration. ORR and our members were able to provide breakthrough innovation, greater access, and critical infrastructure reform at a time when Americans’ desire to get outdoors was at its peak,” wrote Jessica Turner in her “Letter from the President” that kicks off the report. “COVID-19 has given policymakers and the public a deeper understanding of not just the economic impacts of outdoor recreation, but its benefits to mental and physical health and society as a whole.
“ORR members continued to elevate recreation in the national dialogue with record sales and participation numbers, as well as movement on key recreation priorities with the Biden administration, with Congress and rural communities throughout the country. Recreation showed up in the bipartisan infrastructure package
in a major way, with critical funding provided to our nation’s green and blue infrastructure. We also made significant progress on a potentially transformative recreation package with hearings, markups and dozens of bipartisan bills gaining national attention and support.”
Read the full report with more detail on ORR’s activities by clicking here.