Outdoor recreation is an essential part of the West’s economy
Outdoor recreation is an important economic driver in communities across the West. From national parks and monuments to national forests, access to public lands is crucial to ensuring that outdoor recreation remains a vibrant part of Western economies.
In 2023, the most recent data available from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, outdoor recreation contributed $639.5 billion to the U.S. economy, about 2.3 percent of total GDP. Outdoor recreation now supports around 5 million jobs across the country, a three percent increase from 2022. Outdoor recreation and tourism provide rural communities that may otherwise be dependent on the boom and bust cycles of energy development an opportunity to diversify their economies.
Many industries depend on the outdoor economy, including companies that make recreation gear, local shops that serve tourists visiting national parks and public lands, the hospitality industry, and even non-recreation businesses located near public lands. In fact, research shows that in the West, protected public lands support faster rates of job growth and higher levels of per capita income.
The Trump administration’s actions to sell off public lands, kneecap land management agencies, and shrink national monuments threaten Americans’ right to access public lands for recreation. These actions will have sweeping consequences for the outdoor recreation economy that 5 million Americans rely on for their livelihoods. These attacks are deeply unpopular and are facing strong backlash in the West, where public lands are central to the identity of voters across the ideological spectrum.