Nature Rx is a grassroots movement dedicated to entertaining and informing people about the healing and humorous aspects of nature. This video published on Aug 4, 2015:  Set in the world of a spoofed prescription drug commercial, Nature Rx offers a hearty dose of laughs and the outdoors - two timeless prescriptions for whatever ails you. Side effects may include confidence, authenticity, remembering you have a body, and being in a good mood for no apparent reason.

Washington’s outdoor recreation is a driving force for the state’s economy, creating jobs and building rural businesses. It also is a way of life in the Pacific Northwest. Washingtonians Love to Be Outside. Washingtonians participate in outdoor recreation more than 445 million days each year, or on average, we spend 56 days a year recreating outdoors. Of all the places there are to go, local parks are the most visited. This report is the first comprehensive analysis of the recreation economy in Washington. It offers economic impact data by geography, by county, and by activity.

REI, the Seattle-based outdoor recreation and sporting goods giant, announced today that it is going to close for Black Friday (you read that right) and pay its 12,000 employees to go out and play.  REI is also encouraging other companies to join them in what they describe as a stand against the commercial madness that’s characterized the day after Thanksgiving for at least a decade and a half.

The next meeting of the Big Tent Outdoor Recreation Coalition is scheduled for Thursday November 12, 2015, from 10am - 12noon at the Nature Conservancy in Seattle. Agenda highlights include formation of our advocacy committee, membership related policies and 2016 budget. For more information contact info@bigtentcoalition.info.

All Washington State divers and dive shop owners are being offered an opportunity to participate in an economic impact study to determine how much scuba diving contributes to the economy in Washington State. Sponsored by the SeaDoc Society, Washington Scuba Alliance (WSA) and the Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF), will help determine the financial impact of diving and inform policy makers in the state when possibly deciding future expenditures. According to SeaDoc executive director Joe Gaydos, the purpose of the survey is to gather data to better understand the model inside the scuba diving industry in Washington State and how it fits into the overall outdoor market. “Here is a major industry in Washington State and British Columbia we do not have any data on. We were interested in seeing how diving compares with fishing, for example,” says Gaydos.

This position will focus on economic development issues relating to outdoor recreation which includes performing policy planning, analysis, development, and implementation consistent with the Governor’s priorities. The success of this position will be based on measurable results relating to economic development strategies for increasing the number of new jobs and economic activity related to outdoor recreation. A secondary measure will be increased participation by citizens and visitors in outdoor recreation as well as increases in outdoor recreation opportunities. This position is responsible for working with outdoor recreation related businesses, the recreation industry, state and federal agencies, stakeholders, tribes, legislators and constituents to better understand the political landscape and provide informed counsel to the Governor.  Closes October 31, 2015

Actually what Congress did, setting a new standard for dysfunction, is allow the wildly successfully, 50-year-old Land and Water Conservation Fund to expire. They killed it quietly, without a vote.  It leaves hundreds of millions of dollars of park and trail acquisitions in limbo around the U.S.