Proposed Changes to Road-Based Commerical Tour Requirements and Fees US Small Business Administration Wednesday, March 14, 2018 On March 12, 2018 the Office of Advocacy (Advocacy) filed a comment letter urging NPS to consider the impacts to small businesses in preparing its final fee rates and to consider cost-saving alternatives for small business. The proposed fee increase will have a detrimental effect on small business. Read more
RCO 2018 Legislative Report RCO 2018 Legislative Report Recreation & Conservation Office Tuesday, March 13, 2018 All in all, it was a successful session for RCO, especially with the ALEA funding increase. Very soon we will turn our attention to planning for 2019 with budget requests and maybe a bill or two. Thanks to you all who helped with legislative information requests, bill analysis, Outdoor Recreation Caucus meetings, and legislative meetings. I appreciate it so much and couldn’t do it without you! Here is a summary of budgets and bills related to RCO: Read more
WDFW 2018 Legislative Report WDFW 2018 Legislative Report Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife Monday, March 12, 2018 This report summarizes the highlights of the Legislature’s actions related to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Read more
NRA boycott: REI, Mountain Equipment Co-Op, Stop Selling Major Outdoor Brand with NRA Ties The Seattle PI Friday, March 9, 2018 CamelBak water bottles, Bell bicycle helmets, Giro ski goggles - what these products have in common is that they're owned by Vista Outdoor, which includes gun and ammo makers among its brands as well as a strong National Rifle Association connection. And that's part of the reason REI, a nationwide outdoor retailer and consumer co-op, announced Thursday evening that it would, for the time being, no longer be ordering CamelBak, Bell, Giro or any other of the 50 Vista Outdoor brands to sell in its stores. Read more
Analysis of outdoor recreation industry finds its contribution to GDP larger than that of oil, gas extraction The Spokesman- Review Wednesday, March 7, 2018 A federal government analysis of the outdoor recreation’s economic impact reaffirms what many conservation groups have said for decades. Outdoor recreation is a big business. For the first time ever the U.S. Department of Commerce looked specifically at the economic impact of outdoor recreation. The analysis was published last week. Read more