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posted Mar 22, 2019

National Recreation Trails to Visit This Spring

by Taylor Goodrich with American Trails

Spring is in the air, and it is the perfect time to explore nature and view wildlife on our nation’s National Recreation Trails. Wildflowers are starting to bloom, birds are out in abundance, the weather is getting warmer, and these NRTs are some of the best trails out there to experience it all.


posted Mar 21, 2019

FAQ: Tips and Techniques for using Crusher fines surfacing for trails

by American Trails Staff

Finely crushed rock (crusher fines) is a useful alternative to paving trails that accommodates most trail activities.


posted Mar 14, 2019

Atlanta Beltline 2030 Strategic Implementation Plan

The Atlanta BeltLine is one of America’s most ambitious urban transportation and redevelopment programs and is at its core a testament to public, private and community partnership.


posted Mar 7, 2019

The Economic Contributions of Outdoor Recreation: Technical Report on Methods and Findings

This study is an update and expansion of an earlier study of active outdoor recreation produced in 2006 by the Outdoor Industry Association. The 2006 study focused solely on human-powered (i.e. non-motorized) activities. While this study includes the same human-powered activities as the earlier work, an additional survey was conducted to gauge the economic contributions of outdoor recreation.


posted Mar 7, 2019

A Snapshot of the Economic Impact of Outdoor Recreation

Outdoor recreation spending in Western states equaled $255.6 billion – nearly 40% of the national total. This includes purchases of outdoor gear and vehicles as well as travel expenditures when enjoying the great Western outdoors.


posted Mar 7, 2019

Montana Recreational Off-Highway Vehicles – Fuel-Use and Spending Patterns

Residents spend about $208 million per year on OHV activities, and nearly all their entire out-of-pocket trip costs are for gasoline. We estimate that OHV users buy about 6.6 million gallons of gasoline per year. With a base tax of $0.27 per gallon, resident OHV users in Montana generate over $1.8 million in revenue for the state highway trust fund.


posted Mar 7, 2019

Economic Importance of Off-Highway Vehicle Recreation: An Analysis of Idaho Counties

During the period August 2012 through November 2012, the University of Idaho, in cooperation with the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation (IDPR), surveyed Idaho’s registered off-highway-vehicle (OHV) owners. The goal of the survey was to determine the economic importance of OHV use in Idaho during the previous 12 months. The survey sample was drawn from IDPR-registered OHV owners. OHV activities not related to recreation (e.g., work) and out-of-state visitors could not be sampled. Trips and expenditures for OHV recreation in Idaho would be higher if nonresident OHV recreation could be estimated.


posted Mar 7, 2019

Economics of Idaho Off-Highway Vehicle Recreation

Off-highway vehicle (OHV) recreation in Idaho is big business. Idaho OHV enthusiasts took close to 1 million recreation trips in Idaho during 2012 and spent about $434 million – $186 million on OHV recreation trips and $248 million on OHV capital expenditures such as the vehicles themselves.


posted Mar 7, 2019

The Economic and Fiscal Impact of the Hatfield-McCoy Trail System in West Virginia

The analysis indicates that the nearly $1.7 million in spending conducted by the Hatfield-McCoy Trails for day-to-day operations generated an additional $1.6 million in economic activity within the State, for a total operational impact of $3.3 million. Even more notably, the Hatfield-McCoy Trails bring non-local visitors to the area whose spending is estimated to generate an additional $19 million in economic activity in West Virginia. Together, the total estimated economic impact of the Hatfield-McCoy Trails is more than $22 million.


posted Mar 6, 2019

Economic Contribution of Off-Highway Vehicle Recreation in Colorado

During the 2014–2015 season, motorized recreational enthusiasts spent an estimated $1.6 billion while taking trips using motorized vehicles for recreational purposes. More than 92 percent of these expenditures occurred during the summer recreational season. In addition to spending money on trips, households that participate in motorized recreation also spend money on maintenance, repairs, accessories, vehicle storage, and miscellaneous items associated with their vehicles. Motorized recreational enthusiasts spent more than an estimated $724 million annually on various items to support and enhance their experiences in Colorado, including $163 million in new vehicle purchases. In total, motorized recreational enthusiasts were responsible for $2.3 billion in direct expenditures related to motorized recreation in Colorado during the 2014–2015 season.


posted Mar 6, 2019

MO-MOTO OHV Incorporated – OHV Tourism Economic Impact Overview

OHV recreation is a proven financial stimulus to the tourism market with the average rider spending a minimum of $100 on a single day trip. We should encourage struggling areas to embrace OHV tourism as we have the opportunity to directly impact and benefit financial success of local businesses. We can connect rural Missouri to OHV trails, which would provide new employment and income while bringing new money to these distressed regions. OHV tourism can diversify the economy of South East Missouri and create a culture of entrepreneurship based around trail oriented business (outfitters, rentals, guides, cabins, hotels, restaurants, etc) the same way the state park industry has to several Missouri communities.


posted Mar 6, 2019

Outdoor Recreation Satellite Account: Updated Statistics for 2012-2016

Updated statistics from the Outdoor Recreation Satellite Account (ORSA) released by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) show that the outdoor recreation economy accounted for 2.2 percent ($412 billion) of current-dollar GDP in 2016 (table 2). In data produced for the first time, using inflation-adjusted (real) GDP, the outdoor recreation economy grew 1.7 percent in 2016, faster than the 1.6 percent growth for the overall U.S. economy (table 6). In addition, real gross output, compensation, and employment all grew faster in outdoor recreation than in the overall economy in 2016.