{"id":2250224,"date":"2024-05-22T10:35:02","date_gmt":"2024-05-22T14:35:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/outdoor-recreation-gets-another-state-sponsored-pitch\/"},"modified":"2024-05-22T10:40:05","modified_gmt":"2024-05-22T14:40:05","slug":"outdoor-recreation-gets-another-state-sponsored-pitch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/outdoor-recreation-gets-another-state-sponsored-pitch\/","title":{"rendered":"New State Initiative Promotes Outdoor Activities"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">12<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Foutdoor-recreation-gets-another-state-sponsored-pitch%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2250224&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The Office of Outdoor Recreation is advocating\u2064 for increased financial backing during Governor Josh Shapiro&#8217;s week-long RV tour of Pennsylvania. Director Nathan Reigner emphasized\u2064 the industry&#8217;s $17 billion contribution to\u200d the state&#8217;s GDP\u2063 in 2022, positioning\u2062 the office as a key player in advancing\u200d the\u200d outdoor economy \u200dthrough a collaborative, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-looks-to-block-or-limit-new-offshore-drilling-scaling-back-trump-era-plan-to-pump-more-oil-2\/\" title=\"Biden Looks to Block or Limit New Offshore Drilling, Scaling Back Trump-Era Plan to Pump More Oil\">government-wide approach<\/a>. Rural areas are seeking \u200bimproved access to grants and enhanced interagency and community\u200b connections to further boost the outdoor economy.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>(The Center Square) \u2014 The Office of Outdoor Recreation pitched lawmakers on Tuesday for more financial support amid the Shapiro administration\u2019s weeklong tourism campaign.<\/p>\n<p>The industry, according to Director Nathan Reigner, contributed $17 billion to Pennsylvania\u2019s GDP in 2022 and \u201cis a driver of our economy and economic competitiveness strategy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He told two House committees during a joint hearing that the office\u2019s mission was to unite, grow, and strengthen the commonwealth\u2019s outdoor economy with a \u201cwhole-of-government\u201d effort.<\/p>\n<p>This, on day two of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecentersquare.com\/pennsylvania\/article_af864ea4-16ca-11ef-94fb-1b16cf88ce7c.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Gov. Josh Shapiro\u2019s week-long RV tour<\/strong><\/a> of the state.<\/p>\n<p>Housed within the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Reigner positioned the office as a \u201cphone book\u201d organization and not a \u201cwallet\u201d organization. It works across government agencies as a \u201chub and convener,\u201d he said, \u201can entity to tie together parts of the state government involved in outdoor-based economic development.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The outdoor economy, he noted, is 2% of Pennsylvania\u2019s GDP according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Retail, manufacturing, and arts and entertainment comprise almost 56% of that industry.<\/p>\n<p>To grow its outdoor economy, rural Pennsylvania looks toward state and federal grants, but it also needs better connections to state agencies and among rural communities and entrepreneurs. As Reigner sees it, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/university-of-notre-dame-to-require-covid-19-vaccinations-for-students\/\" title=\"University Of Notre Dame To Require COVID-19 Vaccinations For Students\">outdoor rec<\/a> can serve to strengthen communities in less-tangible ways as well.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe neighborly love that comes along with participating in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/watch-canadians-issue-morse-code-sos-signal-across-u-s-ontario-border-to-protest-new-restrictions\/\" title=\"WATCH: Canadians Issue Morse Code \u2018SOS\u2019 Signal Across U.S.-Ontario Border To Protest New Restrictions\">outdoor recreation<\/a> and being in these places together, I think that\u2019s a real and rare benefit outdoor rec can offer,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Getting to that point of growth and connection, however, gets tricky. Many <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/this-data-for-masked-vs-unmasked-counties-would-be-on-every-front-page-if-it-showed-a-different-result\/\" title=\"This Data For Masked Vs Unmasked Counties Would Be On Every Front Page, If It Showed a Different Result\">rural areas<\/a> don\u2019t have the staffing necessary to do so or the people to grow \u2014 and the government mechanisms at work don\u2019t move in their favor, either.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe in Pennsylvania have no shortage of energy, of inspiration, of committed comm members,\u201d Reigner said. \u201cWhat we do have a shortage of is grant writers and project managers, particularly in some of our smaller communities.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Much of the funding available for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/obamas-longest-serving-cabinet-member-confirmed-to-bidens-cabinet\/\" title=\"Obama\u2019s Longest-Serving Cabinet Member Confirmed To Biden\u2019s Cabinet\">rural development<\/a> comes in the form of competitive grants, but many rural municipalities and non-profits don\u2019t have the staff necessary to run the gauntlet of grant requirements.<\/p>\n<p>When the Pennsylvania Wilds submitted a plan to the U.S. Economic Development Administration\u2019s <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eda.gov\/funding\/programs\/american-rescue-plan\/build-back-better\">$1 billion Build Back Better grant challenge<\/a><\/strong>, it failed in part because the Wilds\u2019 plan didn\u2019t create enough jobs. The problem facing that part of rural Pennsylvania, however, is not a lack of jobs \u2014 but <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/reason.com\/2024\/02\/10\/will-outdoor-recreation-save-appalachia\/\">a lack of people to fill those jobs<\/a><\/strong>. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe way policy and funding is being formulated in DC around outdoor economic development, it keeps score for a game that\u2019s different than the one we need to play in Pennsylvania,\u201d Reigner said.<\/p>\n<p>He argued for getting more capacity into municipal, county, and regional economic development groups to exploit existing opportunities.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve gotta join this party and get our outdoor industry organized,\u201d Reigner said.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Office of Outdoor Recreation seeks increased funding during the Shapiro administration&#8217;s tourism campaign. Director Nathan Reigner highlighted the industry&#8217;s significant $17 billion contribution to Pennsylvania&#8217;s GDP in 2022, emphasizing its vital role in the state&#8217;s economic competitiveness<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2250225,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/AP24037853666052.jpg.optimal.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2250224","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/AP24037853666052.jpg.optimal.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2250224","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2250224"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2250224\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2250225"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2250224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2250224"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2250224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}