http://youtu.be/FoT5X9wN_Lk
Outdoor industry leaders from several Western states gathered indoors for a change at the first New Mexico Outdoor Economics Conference. Experts met to promote the physical and financial benefits public lands provide for tourists and businesses.
Consumers spend $887 billion annually on outdoor recreation in the U.S. according to the Outdoor Industry Association. A recent report by The Center for Western Priorities said people make more than 290 million visits to public lands in Western states every year. About 10 million of those visits are to New Mexico, where consumers spend about $10 billion on the outdoor industry.
Since former President Barack Obama designated the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument in May 2014, the monument has grown in popularity. So much that it even has its own apparel line, Organ Mountain Outfitters. Owner Chris Lang said he founded the business to establish pride for local public lands.
“We wanted to create something that people could be proud of because it starts with believing in yourself first and so that’s really the basis of why we started this - and again, a byproduct of that, go outside." Lang said. "You’re going to have a healthy self-esteem when you do that, also give back to your community at the same time.”
Democratic U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich recently unveiled the White Sands National Park Establishment Act, which aims to upgrade White Sands National Monument to a national park. Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Anna Olson said designating an area’s public lands as monuments and parks immediately elevates its brand.
“It raises your profile as a destination and it said a lot of things that you don’t need to say. Like for instance you are a destination for adventure, for outdoor recreation, for scenery in our case for animal safaris. We have bison and bears and moose and so it said a lot of things without you having to explain it without being at that level,” Olson said.
A study by Headwaters Economics, an independent non-profit research group, reports visits to national monuments redesignated as national parks increased by more than 20 percent in the five years after redesignation, compared to the previous five years. Headwaters Economics estimates turning White Sands National Monument into a national park will generate between $6.2 million-$7.5 million in new spending.
State business owners say they’re seeing the benefits of operating near public lands. Dan Irion co-owns the Taos Mesa Brewing Company in Taos, New Mexico. Irion said he’s seen his brewery buzz from the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument since its designation in 2013.
“So we opened our doors in August of 2012, shortly before the designation had been proclaimed and we were banking on our proximity to the Gorge Bridge which sees over a million visitors traveling over it. What we noticed is shortly after the proclamation declaring the Rio Grande del Norte, business did increase quite substantially,” Irion said.
Irion said the campaign to designate Rio Grande Del Norte received monumental support from other Taos business owners.
“Really pretty much across the board it was something that the entire community embraced and saw that this is a good thing, a net positive. Not just from a business standpoint, but also for our community to have this, for our community to use this,” Irion said.
Supporting a career in the outdoors hasn’t been an issue for Colorado Office of Outdoor Recreation Director Luis Benitez. A high-altitude mountaineer, Benitez has summited Mount Everest six times. But he said public lands have defined the peak of his outdoor adventures.
“It’s the place where I push myself the hardest. I learn the most about what I’m capable of and it’s also the place where I get the greatest sense of peace,” Benitez said. “I think whether it’s your neighborhood park or a mountain range 20 to 100 miles away or a river right around the corner, you really have to understand that these places are special so much more beyond just dollars and cents. They really do feed the spirit of what we do and who we are as a country.”
Despite the popularity of public lands, President Trump drastically reduced two national monuments in Utah by more than 2 million acres last December in the largest public lands reduction in American history. Benitez said it’s important for people to understand the value public lands provide and the importance of preserving them.
“It belongs to you. This is yours. It’s the birthright of every American citizen and so even if you go camping once every couple years or do a canoeing trip once every couple years or you’ve been fishing or hunting once in your life, chances are you’ve probably done that on public lands or public waters, and to recognize the value proposition and the legacy of what that is for us as Americans I think is a really important thing to remember,” Benitez said.
In Las Cruces, Lang said the most important thing people can do is to get out and explore.
“There’s a lot of different terrains that we have in the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks for people to enjoy,” Lang said. "But the best thing to do is get in your car, get on University and drive towards the mountains. It’s going to take you 10 minutes to get there. You’re going to see some beautiful trails. You’re going to see things that you’ve never seen before and that’s the most important thing to do is just go.”
Because experiencing the beauty of public lands is something money can’t buy.
