Outdoor industry will be added to the calculus…

General discussions on hiking in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest
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Koda
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Outdoor industry will be added to the calculus…

Post by Koda » December 12th, 2016, 10:31 am

I thought this article interesting...

http://www.denverpost.com/2016/11/29/ou ... c-product/



Denver Post article wrote:Here are a few examples of how the new outdoor industry economic metric might play out: Imagine the Forest Service begins revamping its special-use permitting system. By the end of 2018, the agency’s decisionmakers can flip through the Department of Commerce’s annual tabulation of the U.S. economy and see whether the tangible economic benefits of recreation warrant increased permits. Or, say federal land managers are pondering regulations to address the growing use of paddleboards or electric bikes on public lands. The manager can grab the big GDP book and find out how much e-bike and stand-up paddling equipment manufacturers and tour operators contributed to the national economy. Or, say a policymaker proposes banning motorized use in an area. Opponents of that ban can show how sales of motorized toys and tours help drive the economy.
lightweight, cheap, strong... pick 2

Aimless
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Re: Outdoor industry will be added to the calculus…

Post by Aimless » December 12th, 2016, 11:27 am

Everything gets monetized these days. I'm not sure it's all to the good. I recall when the Reagan administration began the process of calculating the 'official' worth of a human life, so they could plug the number into cost-benefit analyses of workplace safety rules, food and drug regulations and other government responsibilities, so that, effectively, an industry could claim that each million dollars they added to GDP was worth X number of deaths resulting from their economic activity. If future ORV sales figures get used to justify ripping up desert ecosystems this would just continue a discouraging trend of putting a dollar value on everything in the universe.

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BigBear
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Re: Outdoor industry will be added to the calculus…

Post by BigBear » December 12th, 2016, 1:00 pm

Whatever happened to "the best things in life are free" and "money doesn't buy happiness."

I'm rather hesitant on any attempt to embrace how much of an economic impact outdoor activities have on the economy because big oil and big coal are grinning ear to ear "just bring it."

The green of money and the green of forests are not good bed partners.

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