Recent Webinar Recordings

This session on outdoor recreation and economic development will focus on the intersection between outdoor recreation activities and their vast impacts on local economies and communities. Speakers will share a variety of examples of how tribal nations and rural communities have leaned on outdoor recreation to strengthen local economies, create jobs, advance ecotourism and environmental stewardship, and preserve culture and traditional foodways. You will hear from several Economic Recovery Corps (ERC) Fellows and community leaders who will share their experience and work in communities to promote economic resilience and transformative change. 

Speakers: 

• Alexandra Calloway-Nation, ERC Fellow, Wind River Development Fund  
• Essence Sage Oyos, ERC Fellow, Mesa Grande Business Development Corporation (BDC) 
• Marc Wilken, ERC Fellow, Pennsylvania Wilds Center for Entrepreneurship

Learning Objectives:

• Understand current state and trends of the outdoor recreation economy and the role of outdoor recreation in community economic development.
• Identify unique tourism development and business opportunities for the outdoor recreation economy.
• Gain knowledge around workforce development strategies.
• Identify examples of rural resilience during a changing climate and extreme weather events. 
• Identify economic impact metrics and assessment tools.

Resources

•  Sovereignty, Strategy, and Stewardship: Building Outdoor Recreation Economies on Tribal Lands
• Advancing Rural PA’s Outdoor Recreation Sector
• Tribal Tourism in the Outdoor Recreation Economy

Questions + Answers from the Chat:

I would say not only growth but in my experience, retention is a key economic indicator. Employee turnover is a challenge our team has faced in the San Diego rural backcountry and sadly, many of our tribal members are accustomed to being employed "as long as the grant holds out," and equally accustomed to receiving layoff notices when the grant expires. 

STEPS TO RECEIVE A CERTIFICATE FOR LEARNING CREDITS:

1. Attend live webinar/view recording: ABOVE
2. Complete the QUIZ: Take and pass the quiz with a 70% or higher: CLICK HERE
3. Complete the SURVEY: Take a short survey: CLICK HERE

This course is worth the following credits: 1.00 AICP CM | 1.00 LA CES HSW | 0.10 CEU/1.00 PDH Equivalency Petition). American Trails is a certified provider and is excited to partner with SORP to offer free learning credits to attendees. If you passed the quiz with a 70% or higher, a certificate will automatically be emailed to you. If you did not pass, you can retake the quiz to obtain a passing score and certificate.

This webinar will be eligible for learning credits for up to two years (4/2/2026)