The “outdoor recreation economy” is at the heart of a burgeoning development trend for rural areas and small cities. Outdoor recreation is among the country’s largest economic sectors, supporting 7.6 million U.S. jobs and adding more than $59 billion to state and local government coffers.

The U.S. Forest Service calls outdoor recreation a “growing and diverse economic super sector.” Most of the $887 billion spent on outdoor recreation each year goes to pay for the experience (travel costs, guides, lessons) while about 20% is spent on equipment, apparel and other “stuff.” Here’s one way to interpret this: outdoor recreation offers many different entry points for communities looking for an economic leg up.

Even more important to understand as you look to improve, revitalize or pull your community up by its bootstraps: investing in outdoor recreation earns dividends in healthier communities, healthier economies and healthier people. According to the Forest Service, “outdoor recreation is no longer a ‘nice to have,’ it is now a ‘must-have’” for community resilience, competitiveness and spirit. The Outdoor Recreation Industry Association calls it “an under-appreciated and underfunded weapon against crime, poor academic performance and rising health care costs.” Sure, they are industry advocates, but they are also right!

Whether they are old hands or just getting started, communities across the country—and around the world—are looking to outdoor recreation to play a bigger role in their community and economic development strategies, and even to anchor a new sense of common purpose, pride and care.

So how do you make this work for you? In this course, we drill down to the nitty gritty—how to bring your community together around outdoor recreation to generate more awareness and buy-in, make quick progress that can be sustained over time, and create meaningful changes that make a difference for your community’s business and economic vitality, physical health and confidence. You’ll learn a step-by-step process that you can adapt to use “nature-based placemaking” to transform how your community sees, talks about and invests in itself to make it a more attractive place to live, visit and do business.

course learning objectives

1. Strategic Planning and Implementation

• Understand the diverse aspects of the outdoor recreation economy.

• Identify specific strategies for tapping into various facets of the outdoor recreation economy.

2. Community Engagement and Asset Mapping

• Learn techniques for assembling cross-sector planning teams and working with volunteers.

• Engage the community in identifying assets, opportunities, and understanding the role of outdoor recreation in the community's culture.

3. Development Strategy, Branding, and Stewardship

• Map community assets, including hidden ones, and develop an outdoor recreation strategy.

• Learn hands-on branding techniques to communicate the unique aspects of the community.

• Incorporate destination and resource stewardship into all aspects of planning and implementation.

4. Research and Planning for Sustainability

• Acquire skills in market analysis, feasibility studies, and research planning.

• Integrate measurable outcomes into outdoor recreation projects while avoiding resource constraints.

5. Funding, Roadmap Development, and Resource Leveraging

• Identify funding sources and how to leverage available resources.

• Outline a comprehensive outdoor recreation roadmap for the community, emphasizing short-term progress for long-term sustainability.

plus one-on-one coaching

Your registration fee includes a post-course one-on-one or team consultation session to address your particular situation and needs.

Who is this for?

Community & economic development organizations and agency staff • Outdoor recreation user groups and organizations • Parks, trails and other recreational facilities managers • Chambers of Commerce & business alliances • Place-based & conservation organizations • Extension & community development professionals • Downtown & Main Street groups • Business owners & other community leaders

Course Instructor

Michele Archie is a principal of The Harbinger Consultancy. Her integrated approach to outdoor recreation development is built on 30 years of experience with community engagement, community economic development, and destination stewardship in rural and outdoor recreation communities. See Michele on LinkedIn, and learn more right here at HarbingerConsult.com. 

This course was developed in collaboration with Ross Greedy, who honed his passion for using outdoor recreation and nature as a motivating force for community development through experience as an outdoor adventure guide and outdoor educator, as well as leading collaborative outdoor recreation projects as a municipal outdoor recreation program manager and planner.

Session Dates and Times

Six live, one-hour weekly video conference sessions.

Wednesdays, Jan. 15-Feb. 19, 2025 • 10-11am PT/1-2pm ET

Fees & Details

• Every class will be presented live and available for replay in case you need to miss a session or want to review.

• $525 regular course fee • $425 early registration discount through August 31.

• Discounts for two or more participants from the same organization or community: $425 regular group rate, $375 early registration through August 31.

• Organizational and other special discount codes offer a discount in addition to early registration and group rates.

• Contact us for special rates for groups of five or more. We often work with cohorts in our courses, and can create a custom package including group meetings and coaching during and/or after the course.

FREE LEARNING CREDITS

Through a partnership with American Trails, Harbinger is offering free learning credits for this and selected other courses. Credits are available by request, at no charge beyond the course registration fee, contingent on completing the entire course and a brief post-course quiz. American Trails is a certified provider, and you may request credits for:

• American Institute of Certified Planners Continuing Maintenance (AICP CM)

• Landscape Architecture Continuing Education System (LA CES PDH)

• CEU/PDH equivalency petition for other accepting organizations

This course provides 6.00 CM | 6.00 LA CES NON-HSW | 0.60 CEU/6.00 PDH Equivalency Petition

Sessions

Six one-hour live video conferences. Available for replay in case you miss a session or want to listen again.

Session 1: Understanding the outdoor recreation economy and your community’s opportunities

• Dissecting the outdoor recreation economy and understanding community opportunities in different sectors.

• Matching community resources and goals with strategic approaches

• Identifying assets and stakeholders

• Using assessments to build understanding, identify what’s possible and engage your community

Session 2: Working with stakeholders and expanding the circle

• Engaging stakeholders

• Reaching a broader community: why, when and how to expand leadership and participation

• Who are we? Community identity and communities with your community

• Building support around a shared vision

Session 3: Research and planning

• Using the feasibility worksheet

• Basics of market analysis, gap analysis and resident and visitor surveys

• Making and using cost projections

• Leveraging existing plans and projects

Session 4: Building and supporting your case

• Generating economic and community impact data and projections

• Measuring outcomes and anticipating measurable outcomes

• Hands-on branding: connecting your project to your community’s identity and aspirations

• Engaging the practical power of storytelling

Session 5: The long view

• Building blocks: essential outdoor recreation development components

• Integrating your project or initiative into your community

• Funding and other resources

• Management and evaluation for quick progress and staying power

• Tackling—or avoiding—sticky issues with workforce, quality of life, housing, fiscal health, etc.

• Making stewardship integral to your work

• Sustaining long-term support

Session 6: Your community outdoor recreation roadmap

• Where are you going?

• The first leg: where and how to start

• Practicing strategic collaboration: taking advantage of immediate opportunities with the big picture in mind

• Building blocks and strategic staging: sanity-saving ways to leverage easy wins into grand visions

• How will you know when you’ve arrived? Learning, celebrating and moving forward

Good Words From Course Participants

This class was really helpful for our informal collaborative. It was great to have access to all the resources presented, and overall the course helped us focus our efforts.

We decided on developing a wayfinding plan first.  We were just notified that we’ll be receiving the USDA Rural Business Development Grant that our little group applied for to get the process rolling.

Louise Bruce, The Wilderness Society, Salmon, Idaho