Outdoor Recreation for Community and Economic Development

The elements of outdoor recreation development are not steps in a linear process. While some elements are best tackled before others (e.g., developing a vision ideally comes before developing new recreational assets), other elements (e.g., funding and relationship building) are required throughout all steps. This guide recognizes that most communities have not been systematic in their development of an outdoor recreation economy and therefore will be bringing elements together in a way that matches the local context and capacity. As shown in Figure 1, each element is a piece of the outdoor recreation development puzzle.

This guidebook offers:

• Background information on the proven links between outdoor recreation and community economic development, including benefits and challenges  

• Some general guidelines that communities can use as guiding principles throughout all phases of outdoor recreation-focused development 

• A discussion of the roles of various groups in supporting outdoor recreation development

• Detailed guidance on several key elements of outdoor recreation development, including success factors, case studies, sample worksheets, and featured resources. This section begins with a self assessment to help users determine where to start

The Outdoor Recreation Council of BC considers outdoor recreation to be activities that take place in natural settings—most commonly parks, trails, and natural aquatic areas—and does not include activities that take place in highly cultivated recreation areas (such as playgrounds, skateparks or sports fields). Building on this definition, this guidebook takes a broad view of outdoor recreation, including consideration of outdoor assets (existing and new), activities (for locals and visitors), businesses (experiential and retail), outdoor recreation technology design and manufacturing, and relationships with other sectors.

In 2024 and 2025, the team that developed this guidebook spoke with 49 outdoor recreation experts from across BC through a series of focus groups. A technical advisory group consisting of eight additional voices lent further expertise to the project. Results from this expert-driven research are the primary input to this guidebook and, where necessary, we have supplemented with references to other guides, articles, and reports on outdoor recreation. 

Outdoor recreation can bring many benefits to rural communities and economies (1,2,3,4,5,6): 

• Improves public health: Promotes physical activity and overall well-being for residents and visitors.

• Enhances sense of place: Instills a stronger connection to the environment and community identity.

• Offers pathway to reconciliation: Serves as a platform to deepen mutually-supportive relationships between non-Indigenous communities and Indigenous Nations, fostering mutual respect and understanding.

• Creates jobs: Generates employment opportunities in outdoor recreation and related industries.

• Diversifies the economy: If properly managed, outdoor recreation-driven tourism can become a sustainable industry that exists alongside sectors like forestry, mining, and agriculture. The economic impact can be significant. In Golden, annual direct expenditures by mountain bikers alone were estimated at $5.8 million. 

• Increases property values: Enhances the appeal of neighbourhoods with access to recreational areas.

• Fosters a conservation mindset: Encourages residents to connect with nature and support environmental stewardship.

• Supports community vibrancy: Retains existing residents and attracts new residents by enhancing cultural and social dynamics.

• Affects living decisions: A significant number of people prioritize access to outdoor recreation when choosing where to live, especially millennials and families.

• Attracts skilled workers: Outdoor recreation opportunities can draw healthcare workers and other in-demand professionals seeking improved quality of life.

• Encourages entrepreneurship: New businesses supporting outdoor recreation emerge, sometimes founded by newcomers attracted by recreational opportunities.

The outdoor industry, however, is subject to challenges like any other. For this reason, outdoor recreation development should not be seen as a replacement for industries like forestry and mining, but rather as a diversification strategy that is integrated within your community’s overall economic development plan. See the Defining a Vision, Goals, and Actions section for an example. 

(1) Headwaters Economics. (2022). Outdoor Recreation & Economic Diversification in Resource-Dependent Communities. https://headwaterseconomics.org/outdoor-recreation/diversifying-natural-resource-dependence 

(2) Greedy, R; Perry, E; Goralnik, L; Fitzpatrick, J. (2022). Nature-based placemaking: A Natural Asset Focused Community Vibrancy Roadmap. Journal or Outdoor Recreation, Education, and Leadership, 14(1). https://doi.org/10.18666/JOREL-2022-V14-I1-11134 

(3) Rogers, S. H., Ashcraft, C. M., Seaman, J., Lemos, S. R., Krans, L., & Marsh, J. (2024). A Community-Based Approach to the Nature Economy: Insights from Outdoor Recreation, Environmental Conservation, and Economic Development. Journal of Outdoor Recreation, Education, and Leadership, 16(3). https://doi.org/10.18666/JOREL-2024-12188  

(5) Headwaters Economics (2019). Recreation Countries Attracting New Residents and Higher Incomes. https://headwaterseconomics.org/wp-content/uploads/recreation-counties-attract-report.pdf 

(6) Sorenson-Lawrence, L. (2023). Summer 2023 Golden Mountain Biking Economic Impact – Final Report. Align Consulting Group. https://goldencyclingclub.com/cms/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Summer-2023-Golden-Mountain-Biking-Economic-Impact-Final-Report-updated-May.pdf 

Despite the many benefits that outdoor recreation can bring to communities, there are also challenges that are common in areas where outdoor recreation is central in the community (7,8,9,10,11): 

• Environmental degradation: Increased land use can negatively impact wildlife, sensitive ecosystems, and biodiversity.

• Strain on infrastructure and community services: A higher population or visitation can overwhelm existing community services, such as housing and healthcare, particularly during peak seasons.

• Planning and capacity issues: Communities may struggle to effectively plan, monitor, and adapt to the increased demands of outdoor recreation, leading to diminished experiences and community support. This challenge can become especially prevalent if volunteers and community champions step back out of a feeling that they are not well-supported. 

• Conflict: Disagreements can arise between different types of recreationists and between recreation groups and other land users, like natural resource industries.

• Social change resistance: The influx of new residents or tourists may lead to tensions with existing residents, especially if they oppose the resulting shift in social dynamics.

• Job quality concerns: While outdoor recreation can create jobs, these positions may not always provide stable, year-round employment or competitive wages.

• Economic vulnerability: The outdoor recreation economy can be sensitive to environmental factors (e.g., low snowpack, wildfires) or other disturbances (e.g., COVID-relate travel restrictions), impacting job stability and economic sustainability.

Careful planning is important to prevent and manage challenges when they arise. 

(7) Hjerpe, E. E. (2018). Outdoor Recreation as a Sustainable Export Industry: A Case Study of the Boundary Waters Wilderness. Ecological Economics, 146, 60–68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2017.10.001  

(8) Loosen, A., Capdevila, T. V., Pigeon, K., Wright, P., & Jacob, A. L. (2023). Understanding the role of traditional and user-created recreation data in the cumulative footprint of recreation. Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism, 44, 100615. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jort.2023.100615  

(9) Outdoor Recreation Roundtable. (2024). Rural Economic Development toolkit. https://recreationroundtable.org/programs/rural-development/ 

(10) Nepal, S. K., & Jamal, T. B. (2011). Resort-induced changes in small mountain communities in British Columbia, Canada. Mountain Research and Development, 31(2), 89-101.

(11) Martin, M., Deng, J., Arbogast, D., Pierskalla, C., & Smaldone, D. (2024). Evaluating Residents’ Attitudes Toward Tourism Development and Regional Collaboration within the Monongahela National Forest Region. Journal of Outdoor Recreation, Education, and Leadership, 16(3).

As British Columbia’s outdoor recreation economy has grown, the pitfalls of unplanned or unsanctioned outdoor recreation development have been made apparent, and the importance of a collaborative, well-planned approach has become clear. The table below outlines roles for the various types of organizations that may participate in outdoor recreation development. Each place is different, so roles will change based on the specific circumstances in your community.  

• Organization

  • Potential Roles

• Local governments and First Nations (if leading the initiative)

  • - Consult community on vision and preferences for outdoor recreation development
    - Engage First Nations on respectful land use
    - Lead outdoor recreation planning at the community or regional scale
    - Integrate outdoor recreation planning with other community plans
    - Implement supportive land use policies (e.g., zoning) 
    - Land use approvals for assets that exist within local government jurisdiction 
    - Lead stewardship activities
    - Generate funding through taxation, user fees, or grants
    - Develop and maintain assets, including recreation assets and supportive infrastructure
    - Assume ownership of existing assets as capacity allows and where there is alignment with community interests

• Provincial government

  • - Provide funding support
    - Receive/review/comment on/approve land use and authorization applications
    - Set provincial policy direction for outdoor recreation
    - Provide guidance and support recreation groups and local governments

• Federal government

  • - Provide funding support
    - Receive/review/comment on/approve authorization applications under federal jurisdiction

• First Nations (if not leading the initiative) and Indigenous organizations

  • - Receive and respond to consultation requests
    - Foster Indigenous-led recreation
    - Participate in other ways that align with community priorities

• Outdoor recreation groups

  • - Keep the pulse of the recreation community and share needs/preferences with decision-makers
    - Build and facilitate relationships with asset builders (e.g., trail builders)
    - Develop processes for asset development that are supported by landowners and compliant with regulations
    - Participate in land use and recreation planning
    - Engage in fundraising, and develop and maintain assets in partnership with land managers
    - Monitor use levels and implement efforts to manage use levels and protect from overuse
    - Implement initiatives that respond to Indigenous priorities 
    - Lead stewardship activities
    - Build relationships between the recreation community and other groups with rights or an interest in the land base

• Economic development organizations

  • - Serve as a unified voice for outdoor recreation businesses
    - Initiate, guide, and collaborate on new programs that support outdoor recreation (e.g., convening networks and conversations, attracting new businesses)
    - Help build relationships between recreation and economic interests

• Tourism organizations

  • - Market experiences in a way that aligns with community vision and follows destination stewardship principles
    - Lead/participate in efforts to protect from overtourism

• Outdoor recreation businesses

  • - Develop and maintain commercial recreational experiences
    - Support the development and maintenance of recreational assets managed by other groups
    - Contribute to recreation groups
    - Provide services needed to support recreationists
    - Market goods and services in a way that aligns with community vision

• Environmental non-profits

  • - Share data on ecosystems and wildlife to support planning and management of assets and experiences
    - Participate in efforts to manage use levels
    - Provide opportunities for stewardship

• Natural resource industry

  • - Participate in land use planning and advocate for the needs of industry
    - Partner to help maintain access to recreation areas 

• Education providers

  • - Provide training to build a skilled outdoor recreation workforce
    - Provide research expertise to fill information gaps and share lessons learned with other communities

Every community brings a unique mix of assets and capacities to outdoor recreation development and every community is at a different stage in their work. As a result, no two communities will use this guidebook in the same way.

The questions below will help you find those sections that match the current stage of development and interests of your community. If you find multiple low scores or blanks, consider working through the guidebook in the order presented. 

Below is a list of key partners that are critical to outdoor recreation. Can you identify who these are in your community?

• Local recreation and trails organizations

• Recreation Sites and Trails BC recreation officer or manager

• Economic development organizations

• Destination marketing organizations

• First Nations and Indigenous groups

• Other provincial staff (e.g., regional economic operations, MOTI, wildlife)

• Other (e.g., private land owners where relevant)

If you don't know the people in these roles or have not made contact with them, start with Outdoor Recreation and Community Development – Roles and Responsibilities and Building Relationships and Partnerships - Important Players.

If you are in the process of connecting and building relationships, consider starting with Building a Core Team and Building Relationships and Partnerships - Working Regionally and Formalized Partnerships.

If you want to build relationships with First Nations and Indigenous People, consider starting with Working toward Reconciliation

Do you have a skilled and dedicated core individual or group ready to take on the activities identified? 

[1] Leadership is uncertain or ineffective

[2] We have a dedicated champion, but they are not empowered to make progress

[3] We have a strong team including a champion who is well supported. Team is connected across sectors

If you answered 1 or 2, consider starting with Building a Core Team

How much do you know about the outdoor recreation assets that currently exist in your community and who uses them?

[1] We are not sure what assets we have. Or we only know about the assets we use

[2] We have done a basic inventory of our outdoor recreation assets like trails and boat launches but are unclear of the users

[3] We have inventoried our recreation assets along with supportive assets like infrastructure and businesses, and we know who uses them

If you answered 1 or 2, consider starting with Building Relationships and Partnerships - Broader Community Engagement and Understanding your Context. Focus on summarizing what exists and is known.

Have you identified the activities that are needed in your community and who the target audience is? 

[1] We are not sure what assets we have. Or we only know about the assets we use

[2] We have assessed our strengths and weaknesses, but are uncertain how to translate that into actions or who the target audience is

[3] We have a plan with identified activities and connected them to target audiences

If you answered 1, consider starting with Understanding your Context. Focus on identifying what is needed and filling information gaps. 

If you answered 2 or 3, consider starting with Defining a Vision, Goals, and Actions, Developing and  Maintaining Experiences and Assets, and Getting the Word Out.

Do key organizations work effectively together?

[1] We all work separately. Or we can’t seem to get much done together and there is uncertainty around who is responsible for what

[2] We have worked together on small projects, but nothing larger. Or we have achieved a few milestones but feel like we could be more effective

[3] We work well together and have made significant progress on a long-term vision

If you answered 1 or 2, consider starting with Building a Core Team and Building Relationships and Partnerships – Formalized Partnerships.

If you want to work with First Nations and Indigenous People, consider starting with Working toward Reconciliation. 

Has your community experienced conflict related to outdoor recreation?

[1] We have not experienced conflict. Or we have no plan for what to do when disagreements happen

[2] We have experienced some conflict and have struggled to overcome it

[3] We have experienced and worked through multiple instances of conflict

If you answered 1 or 2, consider starting with Building Relationships and Partnerships – Navigating Conflict.

How have you factored environmental protection into your activities? 

[1] We are not aware of environmental considerations specific to our land and species

[2] We are aware of environmental considerations, but are uncertain how to factor them into the project

[3] We have incorporated environmental considerations from the start

If you answered 1 or 2, consider starting with Protecting the Environment.

Have you secured funding to support your activities?

[1] We have no funding

[2] We have partial or short term funding

[3] We are fully funded

If you answered 1 or 2, consider starting with Funding Outdoor Recreation.

How will you know if your efforts are working?

[1] We have no idea. Or “we’ll just know”

[2] We have identified metrics but are uncertain how we will track them

[3] We have identified metrics and we are collecting the related data

If you answered 1 - 3, consider starting with Measuring Progress and Making Incremental Improvements.

A strong team is necessary to successfully implement any element of outdoor recreation development. As your initiative grows and changes, the people and organizations you engage through various projects and tasks will also shift. Your core team, however, will likely stay consistent through most phases. For this reason, it is critical for your core team to be skilled and dedicated.

Core vs. Peripheral Team

Your core team will be the primary driver of your initiative. Its role is to build support, plan the initiative, design and implement actions, manage resources, monitor progress, and coordinate inputs from the peripheral team. Keep these roles in mind when choosing your core team, which might consist of individuals from within just your organization or might include individuals from other organizations that are critical partners in project planning and implementation. 

The peripheral team consists of individuals and organizations that, while invested in the initiative or leading related initiatives, are not responsible for ensuring its success. See the Building Relationships and Partnerships section for guidance on how to foster a motivated and engaged peripheral team. 

The Critical Role of the Champion

Many successful outdoor recreation initiatives can point to one person who was the “heart and soul” of the project, especially in the early phases. A champion is needed to push the initiative forward through competing priorities, build initial relationships, and mobilize support for a project they are passionate about. Characteristics of an effective champion can include: 

• Local, with deep ties to place

• Long-term commitment to the cause

• Highly skilled related to the initiative—planning, trail building, business development, public engagement or something else

• Able to articulate the importance of outdoor recreation in a way that helps diverse audiences understand the potential benefits

• Builds a culture where everyone is welcome, and is willing to engage productively with diverse groups or individuals, even if they don’t hold the same opinions

• Elevates the perspectives of groups who have not historically enjoyed equal access to outdoor recreation

A champion may exist within your local government, or they may be an individual from the broader community. If they are not from your organization, you can empower them by supporting their work with the resources they need and linking their work to yours. Champion burnout is a risk that becomes especially high when they are repeatedly subject to negativity or challenging working conditions. It is critical to nurture and connect with the champion to ensure they feel empowered to continue in their vital role.  

Capacity for the Core Team

To avoid stalling or failing, your core team needs capacity in the form of time, funding, skills, knowledge, and relationships. 

The initial work to explore the feasibility of outdoor recreation development may be done on a volunteer basis, but once an initiative takes shape, it is important to provide the core team with dedicated workload and funding. See the Funding Outdoor Recreation section of this guidebook for suggestions on where you might access necessary financial resources. 

Skills and knowledge can be bolstered in many ways. Comprehensive training programs like Outdoor Recreation Tourism and Management at the University of Northern British Columbia, bite-sized learning opportunities like ORCBC’s Webinar Series, or peer networks like the Shuswap Trail Alliance Roundtable      all offer opportunities for teams and champions to share and build understanding of barriers and bridges to success. 

Succession Planning

Succession planning is crucial for communities to ensure continuity and sustainability of their outdoor recreation developments. As members of your core team move on, having a succession strategy in place can help to maintain progress toward your community’s outdoor recreation vision while fostering a new generation of leaders. To implement succession planning, start by identifying key roles and responsibilities of the core team, assessing potential successors from within your organization or the broader network, and providing mentorship opportunities to cultivate their skills. Additionally, creating documented processes and lessons learned can help facilitate a smooth transition.

Time, money, relationships, community support—they’re all scarce resources that should be used wisely. Before developing outdoor recreation experiences and assets, it is important to take the time to understand what you have, who is using it, who might use it, and what users want. This knowledge allows you to make the best use of the limited resources available to you. Rural communities are all unique. The activities outlined in this section will help you learn more about the context that should inform all aspects of outdoor recreation development. 

Building on Past Work and existing knowledge

Before you begin the process of inventorying your community’s assets or researching user groups (see the Asset Mapping and User Group Research sections below), take the time to review any related past work that may have been done by your organization or others. Even work that is several years old may hold important insights into your community’s outdoor recreation context. Some places you may look for these insights include:

• Surveys about public recreation needs and preferences

• Visitor counts

• Visitor research available through your local destination marketing organization

• Results of business community engagements

• Statistics from publicly accessible sources like Statistics Canada

• Provincial Park or recreation management plans

• Strategic plans from recreation-related organizations

• Research and reports on the ecosystems and wildlife species in your region, especially those that would be affected by your proposed activities.

If these documents do not exist for your community, look to comparable communities or work that has been done at the regional scale. You may be able to use information from similar or neighbouring places as a proxy for your community or downscale from regional results. 

Asset Mapping

Asset mapping is a proven method to take stock of a community’s strengths. It can also help you determine the gaps that your outdoor recreation development initiative could seek to fill, or to identify overlapping or conflicting assets in need of overarching management and direction.  Mapping outdoor recreation assets brings together knowledge not only of what exists but also how recreation assets are used and by whom. Results can help inform management and planning that is appropriate for the local landscape (12).

Asset mapping is most effective when it involves contributions from multiple people or organizations; the more voices you gather, the more comprehensive your results will be.

There are different ways to bring these voices together—surveys, focus groups, and community meetings are some of the choices. The asset mapping guides included in the Featured Resources section below have detailed instructions on how to map your community’s assets. None of these guides were created specifically for outdoor recreation so you will need to adapt the guidance. The table below includes some of the asset categories you could consider including along with the types of participants who would be able to help map these assets and provide usage data. 

(12) Capdevila, T. V., Loosen, A., Pigeon, K., Jacob, A., & Wright, P. (2022). Mapping recreational linear features beyond documented trails in southwestern Alberta and southeastern British Columbia. Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative and the University of Northern British Columbia. https://y2y.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Mapping-recreational.12.2022.v3.pdf 

Loosen, A., Capdevila, T. V., Pigeon, K., Wright, P., & Jacob, A. L. (2023). Understanding the role of traditional and user-created recreation data in the cumulative footprint of recreation. Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism, 44, 100615. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jort.2023.100615

• Assets

  • Invited Participant

• Recreation assets like access points (staging areas, boat launches, trailheads, etc.), trails, water bodies, parks, tenures, commercial operations (ski hills, bike parks, etc.), and campsites

  • Recreational groups, commercial recreation operations, residents, local and provincial government

• Outdoor recreation-focused businesses

  • Chamber of Commerce, Community Futures, business owners

• Supportive community assets like infrastructure (washrooms, boat/bike wash stations, EV-charging locations, etc.), educational assets (interpretive services such as programming or guided experiences), and cultural assets that support an enhanced visitor experience

  • Community planners, cultural organizations

• Environmental features like creeks, sensitive areas, habitat for species at risk, and wildlife corridors

  • Local biologists, landowners, conservation groups, Elders

• Traditional territory and culturally important sites

  • First Nations

• Human resources and organizations

  • Recreational groups, elected officials, community planners, residents

If resources are tight in your community, it is also possible to map your assets as a desktop exercise (i.e., using existing sources of information and without significant engagement of other organizations). In that case, you can consult information sources like the BC Data Catalogue (for recreation areas, tenures, and environmental features), local tourism maps, historic and cultural feature records, and municipal business records.

In addition to inventorying and mapping individual assets, information on usage rates (current and potential future) will help you prioritize gaps and determine if different types of assets are arranged in a way that makes sense (e.g., locating public washrooms near the most heavily used trails). Crowdsourced data from apps like Strava and Trailforks can help you identify hot spots in your community if you haven’t collected your own usage data. 

User Group Research

Once you understand what you already have, you can turn your attention to what you need and for whom. You may focus this research on residents or visitors, current users or potential future visitors. Before you start your research, define your guiding question(s) and the purpose behind each. See the table below for some examples. Your research questions should clearly link back to the overall goal of outdoor recreation development in your community. 

Research can be time and resource-intensive. By building on knowledge that already exists, focusing on only the questions you need to know, and clearly defining your target audience, you can keep this step manageable. 

The table below outlines some of the research tools you might use to answer some common research questions. The resources linked below include several more examples along with guidance on how to design a successful research project. 

• What we want to know

  • Why we want to know it

  • Potential Research Tools

• How satisfied are residents with the assets and opportunities currently available? 

  • So we know where to direct resources for future improvements

  • - Surveys (online or in-person at a specific recreation site)
    - Focus groups
    - Social media analysis

• Which assets currently see the most use? 

  • So we can develop additional similar assets, manage overuse, or build necessary supporting infrastructure

  • - Manual visitor counts
    - Automatic trail counters
    - Trail registers
    - Commercial visitation data
    - App data (Strava Global Heatmap or Trailforks Trail Usage Stats)
    - Recreation group membership numbers

• Does the local community support an initiative that aims to increase tourism/visitors? 

  • So we know if increased outdoor recreation visitation is a viable economic development strategy for our community

  • - Surveys
    - Focus groups

• Where are current users coming from?

  • So we know if outdoor recreation is serving local residents or visitors

  • - User surveys
    - Website analytics
    - Data from commercial operators
    - Fitness app data
    - Visitor Centre records

• Where could we recruit new visitors from?

  • So we can design experiences that appeal to target markets and finetune existing or future advertising

  • - Visitor surveys (to understand what draws existing visitors)
    - Visitor data from comparable communities
    - Visitor highlight and travel pattern data from destination marketing organizations

Business Needs Assessments

Foundational recreation assets that serve the needs of residents and local businesses should come first, but if your outdoor recreation development initiative includes growing the outdoor recreation economy, you may benefit from research on what local businesses need to support their success related to outdoor recreation. This can include recreation specific businesses (e.g., guides, outfitters, campsites, gear manufacturing), as well as related businesses (e.g., food and beverage, accommodation).

Business needs assessments can take many forms and range from simple to resource-intensive. Two established methods include a Business Walk (simple) and a Business Retention and Expansion Project (resource-intensive). Both are described in the resource linked below.

Analyzing Strengths and Gaps

When you’ve gathered what you know about your local context, your next step is to bring all the data together to assess where your outdoor recreation development initiative could focus. One way to do this is through a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis (Figure 2). A SWOT analysis involves thinking systematically through the strengths and weaknesses of your community’s outdoor recreation context while also identifying factors that can either help or hinder your ability to capitalize on these strengths or offer the potential to improve on the weaknesses. A SWOT analysis does not suggest which areas should be prioritized for next steps. Worksheet 1 demonstrates an example of a SWOT analysis and includes a list of guiding questions that can help you sort through results to determine the critical gaps that could be addressed through your initiative. 

In recent years, there has been a significant shift in how Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities engage around questions related to land use and reconciliation more broadly. As outdoor recreation development is inherently land-based, it is essential for local governments to consult, engage, and empower the Indigenous communities whose territories are directly affected by an initiative. Meaningful collaboration not only respects Indigenous rights and knowledge but also strengthens the foundation for sustainable and inclusive recreation practices.

Many rural places struggle with this element of outdoor recreation development. Local governments and recreation groups may not know where to start, they may be worried about saying the wrong thing, they may be hesitant to engage out of fear of relinquishing control, or they may feel that their initiative does not have the time needed to build relationships. The challenge of this task does not make it less essential. Collaboration with Indigenous Peoples is important not only because of their unique legal rights, but because improved relationships benefit communities, advance justice, and promote sustainability. 

The terms First Nation and Indigenous Peoples are related but not interchangeable. Indigenous is a collective term for the original peoples of North America and their descendants, and includes three distinct groups: First Nations, Métis, and Inuit. First Nations are often the focus of outdoor recreation initiatives in BC because of their unique rights and title to ancestral lands.

Truth Before Reconciliation

It is important to understand and acknowledge that outdoor recreation has contributed to colonialism and had associated negative impacts on some Indigenous communities. Most recreation assets in BC exist on unceded lands and were created without the consent of First Nations. Further, Indigenous Peoples have been excluded from many of the benefits that result from outdoor recreation, including economic development, health benefits, and enhanced connection to nature. For example, Parks Canada has acknowledged that its actions have “cut or severely altered Indigenous Peoples’ long-standing relationships and sacred responsibilities for the lands, water and ice that have determined their identities and influenced their cultures and languages” since time immemorial.

Best Practices

The Outdoor Recreation Council of BC’s Guidance Toolkit for Engagement with Indigenous Communities and Working in a Good Way best practices guides are valuable resources for outdoor recreation initiative. The former identifies five recommended practices:

1. Do your homework: Before attempting to reach out or build relationships, take the time to educate yourself. Learn about the history of colonialism and get to know the Nations(s) on whose territory your initiative takes place. All communities are different, so don’t assume that what you know about one place applies to another. 
   Parks Canada (2024). Indigenous Relations, Stewardship, and Guidance. Accessed Jan 14 2025: https://parks.canada.ca/agence-agency/aa-ia.

2. Be local and personal: Recognize that First Nations are neighbours and avoid a formal, transactional approach to engagement. Start to build a relationship now—well before you need something. Some of the ways you can do this include:

1. attending a public event hosted by the Nation  

2. sending a casual letter of introduction or congratulations to a new Chief and Council

3. offering to take members of the Nation on a ride, hike, or some other experience that your community has to offer

3. Listen more, talk less: Ask how you can help and be an effective ally. Listen for common interests that you can work on together. Small, achievable goals are a good place to start. 

4. Be consistent and respectful: Trustful relationships take time to build, and First Nations can be overwhelmed with requests for their time. Be patient and persistent, but also accept and respect when “no” is the answer. 

5. Be flexible but committed: It is very possible that your initiative’s interests will not perfectly align with those of a First Nation, or that interests may change over time. Be prepared to make adjustments in a way that allows you to continue a pr

Indigenous-Led Outdoor Recreation

Indigenous communities and businesses, like many others across BC, are increasingly recognizing the benefits outdoor recreation development can generate. Indigenous-led outdoor recreation initiatives can help overcome some historic challenges, including a lack of sensitivity for sacred sites and cultural norms. Partaking in Indigenous-led outdoor recreation can also be seen as an act of reconciliation, as participants may have the opportunity to learn about history and culture while they paddle, hike, fish, or ride. 

Empowerment of Indigenous outdoor recreation initiatives is an opportunity to advance reconciliation and relationships. Non-Indigenous groups and communities can do this by co-planning outdoor recreation with First Nations, helping to build capacity for outdoor recreation developments (e.g., through skills training or information sharing), supporting development of assets prioritized by Indigenous groups, and promoting Indigenous-led experiences to potential users. 

Outdoor recreation development is a team sport, and strong relationships are key to any initiative – from building a single trail to a future vision. Many outdoor recreation groups have shared that mutual trust and understanding are precursors to meaningful collaboration and are critical for overcoming conflict. Working with diverse partners builds support for an initiative and makes it more efficient by sharing the workload and focusing on shared goals.

Outdoor recreation experts have shared some factors in building successful and productive relationships:

• Time is of the essence. Build relationships early, before making requests and before required.

• Transparency and creation of trust are critical to good relationships. In some cases, this may simply involve continuing to show up and participate (i.e., demonstrating commitment), while in others this may involve a neutral and trusted external facilitator.

• True partnerships are co-constructed with organizations sharing power and each having a say in how they participate and what they are responsible for. 

• The process cannot be rushed. Adequate time is necessary to building genuine relationships.

Important Players in the Local Rec-Scape

Building relationships begins with identifying the key individuals or groups you should engage with in the outdoor recreation community. Consider the list of key organizations/roles below and compare this to the relationships you identified as ‘strong’ in your SWOT analysis (or equivalent). You can use Worksheet 2 to record the situation in your community. 

• First Nations and Indigenous groups for projects that they are leading or have prioritized

• Local recreation clubs and alliances

• Local planning staff

• Local economic development (e.g., local government, Community Futures, Chamber of Commerce)

• Local destination marketing association – can assist with connections to Destination BC as needed

• Recreation Sites and Trails BC district recreation officer and managers – can assist with navigating processes, as well as providing examples of partnerships

• Local Search and Rescue groups

• BC Regional Economic Operations staff – can assist with general government navigation

• BC Parks staff – if your initiative has an interest in protected areas

• BC Water, Land and Resource Stewardship staff for the Coast, North, South– can assist with habitat and ecosystem-related requirements

• BC MOTT regional contacts – can assist with questions regarding rights of way

• Landowners for developments that require access over private land

• BC Agricultural Land Commission for projects that involve the Agricultural Land Reserve

• Your local Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA)

Relationships with First Nations are unique in that they are government-to-government relationships, and engagement is an integral part of any process that involves a development that may infringe on Indigenous rights and title. Many First Nations governments are developing their own outdoor recreation projects or co-leading alongside neighbouring local governments.  Visit the Working toward Reconciliation section for more guidance on working with First Nations and other Indigenous groups. 

Working Regionally

Regional approaches can help minimize duplication and maximize limited resources. They also recognize that a single community doesn’t have to provide everything for existing or potential recreationists. For instance, when evaluating your community’s strengths, it’s useful to consider what assets or experiences are within a reasonable distance of your area.

However, large regional projects may prevent communities from recognizing and enhancing what makes them unique. They can also introduce complexity, potentially causing smaller communities to lose sight of simpler, more achievable goals. In such cases, a regional approach could be as straightforward as sharing ideas and coordinating activities, keeping each other informed, and identifying future opportunities for collaboration.

Working with Volunteers

Your initiative may involve working with volunteers. Volunteers are the lifeblood of many outdoor recreation groups in BC. Collaborating with volunteer groups on recreation projects brings local expertise, cost-effectiveness, and community engagement. Volunteers foster ownership, stewardship, and long-term care for recreational areas. However, working with volunteers can bring challenges. Volunteer “burnout”—where volunteers become less enthusiastic or willing to participate over time—is a common problem. A loss of key contributors can affect the potential success of your initiative. The following is a list of strategies to minimize the potential for volunteer burnout. 

• Provide volunteers with meaningful work that links directly to community benefit

• Recognize their efforts and contributions

• Be organized so that you do not waste volunteers’ time

• Offer flexible opportunities, including “micro” opportunities 

• Provide the necessary resources for volunteers to feel supported

• Seek feedback from current or past volunteers about how your volunteer management processes could be improved

To mitigate against the risks associated with overreliance on volunteers, make all possible efforts to plan for the ongoing costs of outdoor recreation and fundraise so long-term contributors can be paid for their time. See the Funding Outdoor Recreation section of this guidebook for related guidance. 

Formalized Partnerships

Local governments, recreation groups, First Nations, private landowners and other parties can get a lot done through informal relationships and agreements. However, coordinated outdoor recreation development initiatives usually benefit from formalized partnerships that clearly outline each party’s role in the collaboration. Formal partnerships can take different forms. Below are a few types with links to examples of each. 

• Memorandum of understanding: An MOU between Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) and the Squamish Off-Road Cycling Association recognizes the relationship between the organizations and establishes terms under which Nation lands may be accessed.

• Umbrella organization: The Shuswap Trail Alliance is an organization that brings partners together to build sanctioned and sustainable trails across the region.  

• Shared land use planning: The Columbia Valley Recreation Planning Initiative includes a committee of organizational representatives working together to make recommendations for recreation management in the region.  

Each approach to partnership is unique, but some of the common questions that may be answered in a formal agreement include: the interests each group brings to the table, the commitments each group makes to participating, and the role of each group in enacting a shared vision. 

Partnerships take time to form, and they are only successful when the participants can develop a shared vision. Consider a professional facilitator to support this process – either through a paid contract or by working with a skilled local volunteer. 

Broader Community Engagement

Even the strongest partnerships will struggle to make progress on outdoor recreation development without buy-in from the broader community. Community support provides the initiative with a social license to operate. It can be built by continuously inviting people to get involved, listening to feedback, and showing that feedback makes a difference. There are also some specific points where you may want to seek input through formal engagement processes like surveys or focus groups (see the Understanding your Context section for guidance on this type of research):

• Establishing a vision

• Planning for recreational uses of the land base 

• Discussing trade-offs between uses

• Evaluating successes, challenges, and impact  

Navigating Conflict

Conflict is inevitable when diverse organizations come together, whether in long-term partnerships or over emerging challenges. Some common reasons for conflict include misunderstandings or misinformation, differing perspectives, past decisions, and a precedent of poor engagement. The issue is not whether you experience conflict, but rather how you address it. A failure to do so effectively can derail outdoor recreation development, result in damage to recreation assets or the environment, and spill over into broader community or intercommunity conflict. 

There are a few general principles that you can use to help manage any type of conflict:

• Continuously build and maintain trust between the core team, partners, the community, and the surrounding region 

• Maintain open lines of communication so concerns can be shared early (before they are critical), potential solutions can be identified, and users are informed about closures, maintenance activities, hazards, etc.

• Prioritize respect in all interactions surrounding a conflict, and focus on shared values between groups that may seem at odds

• Follow a plan when developing outdoor recreation assets and experiences, and ensure this plan was developed with input from all relevant voices 

However, if the root cause of the conflict persists, it may impact long-term success. The table below includes some common drivers of conflict in outdoor recreation along with potential strategies to resolve the conflict. 

• Conflict Driver

  • Potential Strategies for Resolution

• Lack of compatibility (real or perceived) between different activities or user groups

  • - Land use planning involving all users of the land base and considering ecosystems needs
    - Building and strengthening relationships and understanding between groups through roundtables or facilitated discussions

• Inappropriate user behaviour

  • - Education related to appropriate behaviour (signage, social media campaigns, volunteers, etc.)
    - Stewardship activities that involve users

• Higher-than desired levels of use

  • - Development of acceptable limits of change with the whole community
    - Development of new assets or opportunities to distribute users
    - Usage monitoring (e.g., trail counters)
    - Visitor use management strategies (volume management and controlling access to dedicated areas

• Usage patterns out of alignment with traditional use and Indigenous cultural values

  • - Indigenous-led outdoor recreation
    - Effective relationships and partnerships with Indigenous Nations and other Indigenous groups
    - Visitor use management strategies (e.g., experience relocation) 
    - Visitor education

• Disconnect (real or perceived) between who contributes and who benefits

  • - New/enhanced opportunities for users to give back through volunteerism
    - Trail user fees, memberships, and other strategies to encourage return of financial benefits to groups responsible for provision and management of assets

• Wildlife interactions

  • - Closures (spatial or temporal, temporary or permanent)
    - Land use planning that prioritizes ecosystem needs
    - Asset development with wildlife needs in mind (e.g., avoiding food source areas)

Outdoor Recreation Roundtable. (2024). Rural Economic Development toolkit.

 https://recreationroundtable.org/programs/rural-development/ 

Neumann, P., & Mason, C. W. (2019). Managing land use conflict among recreational trail users: A sustainability study of cross-country skiers and fat bikers. Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism, 28, 100220. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jort.2019.04.002  

Adequate funding is key to all phases of outdoor recreation development. Many communities or organizations focus on securing the funds needed to build a specific asset, but it is just as important to make sure you have the resources required to properly plan and maintain that asset, and to link it into your community’s broader outdoor recreation vision.  

A central challenge for communities who link their outdoor recreation assets to tourism is capturing visitor spending in a way that comes back to the groups responsible for developing and maintaining the assets. In many places in BC, there is a disconnect between who pays for and who benefits from outdoor recreation, and this can be a source of conflict. However, there are examples of communities who are finding solutions to this challenge, and some of those are detailed below. 

Overcoming the funding challenge, like most aspects of outdoor recreation development, requires strong and effective relationships with funders and potential sponsors. The work you do to make sure your community is aligned on its goals will help you make the case for an “all hands” approach to funding outdoor recreation. It is difficult for funders to deny a community that shows there is broad support and commitment to making the vision a reality.

Potential Funding Sources

Below is a list of possible funding sources that may be accessible to your community, along with a few examples.   

• Grants – Grants have been a core funding source for outdoor recreation for many years. Governments (federal, provincial, or local, including local government operating grants like those offered in Rossland), trusts, foundations (local, provincial, or private), Indigenous organizations, philanthropic organizations, and non-profits may all offer relevant grants. Be creative when searching for funding programs. Collaborations with your partners may open up access to grants that your organization is not eligible for. Further, outdoor recreation projects can often be reframed as contributions to economic development, climate action, active transportation, etc. Some of the related terms you could search for include: 

  • Economic development

  • Infrastructure

  • Climate change/climate action

  • Nature

  • Destination

  • Active transportation

  • Healthy community

  • Workforce/jobs

• Local Government Services – Some communities are experimenting with a taxation-funded local government service. This is a unique and powerful way for local governments to provide much-needed consistent funding to outdoor recreation. Local governments can direct some of this revenue to a reserve to finance long-term or unexpected expenses that emerge when outdoor recreation partners can no longer maintain assets. Revenue can also be redistributed to community recreation groups like it is in the Regional District of Bulkley Nechako. Read more in the case study below. 

• User fees – User fees are commonplace for some types of outdoor recreation in BC, but not all. Groups that groom trails for winter use often charge trail fees. Groups that manage summer trails could consider experimenting with similar fee structures. 

• Donations and membership fees – Some groups, like the Hazelton Trail Society do not require user fees but encourage donations through social media, trailhead signage, or websites. Donations sometimes take the form of annual memberships.  

• Tourism and business contributions – Some communities are working in partnership with their destination management organizations and/or business community to encourage a return of proceeds to the assets that draw in visitors and customers. One example is on Vancouver Island, where sponsorship from multiple outdoor recreation companies makes up a portion of the United Riders of Cumberland’s annual revenue. 

• Social enterprise – Outdoor recreation organizations may be able to raise funds by offering services like clinics or camps. Proceeds from the Nelson Cycling Club’s clinics go into building and maintaining the local trail system.  

• In-Kind – Residents, businesses, and aligned organizations may not be able to make financial contributions but can offer in-kind contributions like donations of equipment or labour. The Adra Tunnel case study in the Building Relationships and Partnerships section is a great example. .

Making the Case with Data

Many funders require that you provide evidence of the demand for, or impact of, outdoor recreation in your application. You may be able to reference existing studies (either from your community or a comparable community) to make your case, but you may also be able to tell a powerful story by collecting just a few new datapoints from your users or partners. Much can be accomplished relatively inexpensively through simple visitor counts or community surveys, but it is important to anticipate the need for this data before a funding opportunity is announced. See the Understanding your Context for more guidance on conducting research. 

You know the purpose behind your community’s outdoor recreation work and have been using it to drive your activities all along. But defining a vision is something different. It’s an opportunity to think about what success looks like and plan how you will achieve your goals. 

Well planned outdoor recreation that is integrated with other community economic development activities can more readily access the benefits discussed in this guidebook while avoiding some of the hurdles like conflict or regulatory delays. A failure to plan can result in disputes around approaches or priorities, recreation assets that are non-compliant or unauthorized, a lack of access to necessary resources or support, or duplication of efforts.

Setting a Vision

What do you want outdoor recreation to look like in your community over the short, medium and long term? How will you know if you’ve been successful? Local governments are well-poised to help their communities craft a vision that sees the big picture. 

A strong vision:

• Is clearly aligned with your purpose

• Articulates something achievable while still being aspirational

• Reflects the community’s unique context 

• Resonates with different audiences

• Provides a ‘North star’ that can guide decision-making 

It is critical that your vision is set with input from across your community. Big picture planning needs to maintain connection and inclusion of individuals working ‘on the ground’ in outdoor recreation. This includes reaching out to the parties who have developed some of your community’s existing assets—even if those assets are unsanctioned or non-compliant with current regulations. Recreation planning can be a powerful tool to legitimize grassroots work and bring historic contributors into a more structured approach going forward. Check out the case study below for an example. 

If your community cannot agree on a vision, take the time to understand perspectives and build support before moving ahead with planning or implementation. Without this effort, disagreements will persist and create conflict down the road. For guidance on how to navigate community disagreements, see the Building Relationships and Partnerships section. For guidance on how to gather community input, see the Understanding your Context section. 

Types of Recreation Planning

Big picture outdoor recreation plans can take the form of recreation master plans (e.g., trails master plans), strategies that are integrated into other community development plans (e.g., official community plans), or both. 

One example of a recreation master plan is the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako’s Parks and Trails Master Plan for Electoral Areas B and E. It includes a clear vision that was based on two rounds of community engagement and a set of goals to achieve the vision which include working through partnerships and strengthening community capacity.

One example of outdoor recreation strategies being integrated into other community development plans is in Elkford, where the related policies and objectives are built into the Official Community Plan, Economic Development Strategy, and Community Tourism Plan. 

Whatever approach you take, your community’s planning efforts should link to and build off each other. This practice will help ensure that outdoor recreation is adequately resourced and prioritized in community decisions. During the pre-planning phase as you explore your community’s outdoor recreation context, it is a good idea to identify plans that either currently relate to outdoor recreation, or could in the future. 

Your community may also be curious about the potential of developing or updating an existing comprehensive land use management plan in conjunction with other land users and governments. In step with British Columbia’s reconciliation commitments, the approach to this type of planning has changed. BC’s modernized land use planning program is working in areas that have been prioritized in partnership with First Nations, but there are still ways other communities can make progress on landscape-level planning. 

Defining Goals and Actions

Goals are the broad themes and intentions that will help your community move toward its vision. Actions are the specific steps that are needed to achieve the goals. Plans should be developed logically so that all actions clearly serve the vision and the overarching purpose. Goals and actions should also consider the priority strengths and gaps you identified while getting to know your community’s context. Use Worksheet 3 to sketch out plan elements that flow logically.

Managing Change and Overuse

Outdoor recreation has negative impacts. When there are more users on a land base, there will be effects on environmental values like wildlife habitat or cultural values like sacred Indigenous sites. When there is an increase in visitation to the community, there will be effects on community infrastructure, housing, and ways of life. Recognizing and minimizing these impacts is important to maintain community support, preserve environmental integrity, and ensure a quality experience for recreationists. 

At the planning stage, you can address this by engaging your community, First Nations, partners, and environmental experts on their values. Some might also share how much change they are willing to accept. This information can help you set actions that preserve prioritized values, as well as helping ensure you follow requirements. You can also determine indicators that will help signal when you need to take additional steps to manage negative impacts. See the Measuring Progress and Making Incremental Improvements section for more information on how to monitor impacts. 

Diaz Lopez, X. (2023). The Impacts of Outdoor Recreation in Rural B.C. Communities A look into Burns Lake, Fernie, Revelstoke, Squamish, and Tofino. Outdoor Recreation Council of British Columbia. https://investsquamish.ca/assets/Report-The-Impacts-of-Outdoor-Recreation-in-Rural-BC-Communities-v2.pdf  

If your community finds itself in the position of having been too successful at drawing in users, your vision, goals, and actions should consider how to address associated negative impacts of overuse. You might either introduce measures to manage overuse or adopt policies or practices that improve your community’s ability to absorb higher levels of visitation. See the Developing Supporting Infrastructure and Services section for a few places to start. 

One of the primary reasons people enjoy outdoor recreation is the inspiration and happiness they draw from nature. Recreation has an impact. If this impact is not carefully managed, it can degrade the natural environment we love so much and negate the long-term benefits a community might experience from outdoor recreation. Some of the environmental issues that have been linked to recreation include:

• Garbage and human waste not being disposed of properly

• Fish and wildlife displacement or disturbance

• Destruction or degradation of habitat, dens, and food sources

• Erosion of trails and resource roads

• Introduction of invasive species

• Wildfire ignition 

Instead of trying to simply minimize negative impacts, your community can aspire to nature positive outdoor recreation. Nature positive initiatives seek to restore and enhance the environment through human activity and support the global goal to reverse biodiversity loss by 2030. 

Review some of the resources in the Developing and Maintaining Experiences and Assets section for a summary of environmental regulations that could influence your work. 

Getting to Know the Local Environment

Take the time to understand wildlife, wildlife needs, and ecosystems in the lands that surround your community. There are some public data sources available for these themes (see the T.E.S.T. Tool linked below) and it is best practice to hire a registered professional biologist to perform an environmental review as part of your planning process. It is also likely that community members hold wisdom that can be helpful. Indigenous peoples, biologists, hunters/fishers, avid outdoor recreationists, and others who spend time on the land may be able to offer advice on areas that are frequented by wildlife or host sensitive features (you may have gathered this advice while doing the asset mapping exercise described in the Understanding your Context section). There may be places that are simply too sensitive to sustain recreation.

Environmental studies can also establish baselines that you can compare future conditions to. This allows you to monitor environmental impact over time and determine whether your efforts to avoid damage have been successful. Some of the priorities for monitoring are wildlife encounters, the spread of invasive species, and occurrence of rare and endangered species.

Reducing Impacts

Some of the strategies you can use to avoid or reduce negative impacts include:

• Build or relocate recreational features to areas that have low habitat value, especially for features that will see repetitive or high use

• Define intended uses and restricted activity types (e.g., permitted seasons, motorized vs. non-motorized, dogs)

• Design for low trail speeds to reduce the potential for surprise wildlife encounters

• Provide the infrastructure needed to manage waste and invasive species (bear-resistant garbage cans, outhouses, boat wash stations)

• For sites that intersect with high-value habitat, design to limit visitor volumes (e.g., smaller parking lots, fewer amenities)

• Implement seasonal or temporal (e.g., dusk/dawn) closures 

• Require permits or passes to reduce visitor volume

• Remove invasive species

• Avoid stream crossings or construct clear-span bridges

• Remove firepits

These are described in detail in the resources linked below. 

 Scallion, M.; Titchener, K. (2023). Trail Development Guidelines to Minimize Disturbance to and Conflict with Large Carnivores. Outdoor Recreation Council of BC. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/6169b9b7f9862761042c7c05/t/6455c2dd39d06572771b0041/1683342085448/TrailDevelopmentGuidelinesCarnivores_ORCBC.pdf 

Shuswap Trails Alliance (2020). Trail Environmental Screening Tool. Accessed Jan 14 2025: https://shuswaptrails.com/files/T_E_S_T_2020_Master_.pdf 

Educating Users

Communities will not be able to design or restrict their way out of every environmental impact. They will also face the challenge that recreation users may not see or understand the impacts they make as individuals or cumulatively. Recreationists share the responsibility to avoid negative interactions with the environment and reduce the strain on community resources (e.g., by avoiding the need for a rescue). Local governments and recreation groups can help educate users before they visit (e.g., social media campaigns, newsletters), or while on-site (e.g., signage, handouts, ranger programs). When you require fees or memberships, you introduce an opportunity for education if you require that customers review guidelines or sign a code of conduct as part of the purchase process. Some existing educational materials designed for the public include: 

• PlayCleanGo: An invasive species resource designed for outdoor recreationists

• Leave No Trace: A pledge for recreationists to adopt the seven principles of responsible outdoor recreation

• WildSafe Rangers: Youth-oriented educational materials on human-wildlife conflict

• Camper’s Code: A pledge for responsible camping in British Columbia

Recreation as Stewardship

Stewardship activities bring the potential to transform outdoor recreation into something regenerative or nature positive. They provide an opportunity for groups to give back and help take care of the natural environment that offers so much. Stewardship activities can seem daunting because they are another task for a capacity-strapped organization to organize, but there is a wide range of ways to participate—it doesn’t have to be complex. Partnering with organizations who already steward natural resources can be an easy way for your community to connect this good work with outdoor recreation. Potential partners include: 

• Local nonprofit stewardship groups like the Nechako Environment & Watershed Stewardship Society

• Invasive species councils like the Boundary Invasive Species Society

• “Friends” groups like the Friends of Kalamalka Lake

• Provincial organizations like the BC Wildlife Federation 

Mitigating Climate Change

Outdoor recreation contributes to climate change through fuel consumption and land use changes, but it can also help enable nature-based solutions to climate change. All facets of society have a responsibility to take climate action, and outdoor recreation is no different. Some of the ways your community can mitigate climate change through outdoor recreation include: 

• Reduce greenhouse gas emissions:

• Focus on assets and experiences that are human-powered or electric 

• Build facilities that are close to where people live

• Facilitate mass transportation to recreation areas

• Give people a reason to vacation close to home

• Market to locals and those who live nearby

• Foster nature-based solutions to climate change:

• Advocate for the protection of natural areas

• Preserve functioning ecosystems that serve as green infrastructure (e.g., healthy watersheds)

• Minimize negative impacts to enhance the resilience of natural systems

While it is important to reduce emissions, it is also critical to adapt recreation to a changing climate. See the Designing for Sustainability and Resilience section for more information. 

You’ve done your homework so you know what your community needs, who you are developing outdoor recreation for, and how you can avoid harming the surrounding environment. You’ve built relationships so you have the support of residents, rights-holders, and land managers. With these critical pieces of the puzzle in place, you can turn your efforts to developing and maintaining the assets and experiences that align with your community’s vision and goals. 

This section reviews some of the considerations for developments that are lawful and designed to meet some of the challenges currently facing outdoor recreation in BC. 

New programs and assets are exciting but before you begin, ask yourself whether something new is required or  if it makes more sense to focus on improving what already exists. Remember that every new asset needs to be maintained, which takes people, time, and money. 

Overview of Land Use and Access Requirements

Key policies and management frameworks for outdoor recreation in BC are summarized in this section; however, this is not an exhaustive list and this is a changing landscape. Review the “Featured Resources” below for more detail on applicable legislation and policies. 

• The use of Crown land, including recreation, is governed by the Land Act. 

• Public, non-commercial recreational access to unmanaged or unoccupied public (Crown) land is generally allowed for recreational activities such as hiking, camping, fishing, and off-road vehicle use unless explicitly restricted by legislation or regulations.

• Operators providing compensated recreational services on Crown land (including land covered by water) must obtain a tenure under the Land Act. 

• Designated recreation trails and sites

• Managed under the Ministry of Environment and Parks, Recreation Sites and Trails BC (RSTBC) oversees designated recreation sites and trails on Crown land.

• Under Section 57 of the Forest and Range Practices Act, authorization is required to construct, rehabilitate, or maintain trails or recreation facilities on Crown land. RSTBC is responsible for granting these authorizations.

• Certain trails are designated for specific activities, such as hiking, mountain biking, or motorized recreation.

• According to Section 16 of the Forest Recreation Regulation, other uses of Crown land may require authorization from RSTBC, including sporting events, business use or industrial use (this includes filming movies and promotional videos).  Authorization is not required to use a recreation site or trail for small public gatherings of less than 15 people, or for basic recreational day use such as hiking, or overnight camping.

• Provincial parks

• BC Parks, under the Ministry of Environment and Parks, is responsible for the management of provincial parks, protected areas, ecological reserves, and conservancies. The Park Act provides for the establishment, classification, and management of parks, conservancies, and recreation areas. 

• Private lands

• The Trespass Act prohibits unauthorized access to private land. Permission is required for entry and is best confirmed through a negotiated access agreement (see the Formalized Partnerships section for a sample). Most Crown land remains accessible for recreational purposes unless leased, licensed, or otherwise restricted.

• Properties that are part of the Agricultural Land Reserve are subject to the Agricultural Land Reserve Use Regulation. Passive recreation is generally permitted under certain conditions. 

• Local policy and regulations

• There may be additional requirements to consider that are specific to your local (municipal or regional district) or Indigenous government. 

Authorizations take time to secure, and your community should plan accordingly. There are many examples of communities who waited multiple years for approval to construct a new recreation facility. This process will be smoother if your project is well-planned and the necessary relationships are in place. 

Recreation Sites and Trails BC (n.d.). Applicant Information Guide: Authorization to Use a Recreation Site, Recreation Trail, or Interpretive Forest Site. Accessed 5 Feb 2025. https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/sports-recreation-arts-and-culture/outdoor-recreation/camping-and-hiking/recreation-sites-and-trails/section-16/s16_applicant_information_guide.pdf 

Planning for Maintenance

Often, communities and recreation groups focus on developing a new asset without making adequate plans for long-term maintenance. Maintenance requires time, people power, and money, and this should be accounted for in your development plans. It is generally more difficult to find funding to maintain assets than to construct new ones. Assets that are poorly maintained can frustrate users, pose safety issues, impact the environment, and damage the reputation of the community. Some communities have found success in encouraging the groups that benefit from construction of a new recreational asset (e.g., recreationists, outdoor recreation businesses, tourism businesses) to commit to participating in, or funding, long-term maintenance. 

Developing Supporting Infrastructure and Services

Recreation assets will be more valuable if they are supported by the infrastructure and services needed to help recreationists find and enjoy the experience. These supporting services might also help you retain some of the benefits of outdoor recreation (e.g., visitor spending) within your community. Depending on what you are developing, and who for, consider the following:

• Signage (wayfinding and educational)

• Parking

• Washrooms

• Public transportation/shuttles

• Accommodation (camping and/or roofed accommodation)

• Retail services (bike/ski shops, etc.)

• Food services 

• Repair/rental services

• Lockable storage

• Charging stations (e-bike, EV)

• Bike/boat wash stations

Signage is a particularly important support for outdoor recreation and is vital not only to helping people find their way, but also for promoting safety and accessibility, managing liability, and setting expectations for the user experience. Good signage can be costly, but should include at least the name of the asset, important statistics (length, direction, etc.), designation/rating, liability language, and emergency contacts. 

If your community’s vision involves attracting new residents or visitors through outdoor recreation, consider first whether critical community infrastructure and services (housing, schools, roads, water systems, etc.) are ready to absorb a higher number of users. 

Designing for Accessibility

The outdoors are for everyone. Not every asset or experience can or should be equally accessible, but your community’s approach to outdoor recreation development should consider how you will accommodate the full range of user groups and abilities across the array of assets or programs. Experiences that span the accessibility spectrum are needed to ensure the benefits of outdoor recreation are available to recreationists with diverse skill levels, with various abilities, and from different cultural and economic backgrounds. 

Accessible development requires thinking through new lenses for everything from trail design to signage to outhouses and beyond. One tangible way to develop these lenses is by taking GBA+ training or other relevant training for promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion in outdoor recreation in BC. It is also important to bring in active voices from people in equity deserving groups. The accessibility committee your local government introduced under the Accessible BC Act may be a valuable resource. 

There are currently no established guidelines for accessible outdoor recreation in BC, but an Outdoor Spaces Standard is in development at the federal level. For the time being, US organizations have published resources that are seen as the “go to” in this field (see the Featured Resources section below). 

Enhancing accessibility often includes making exceptions to allow for usage of adaptive equipment and service animals in areas that otherwise prohibit animals or mechanized/motorized equipment.  Local governments and recreation groups should be prepared to answer questions from the community about the conditions under which these types of aids are permitted at recreation areas, as there have been instances when these types of exceptions are exploited for purposes that don’t align with their intent. The US Forest Service offers two questions to help guide decisions around equipment: 

• Is the device solely designed for use by a mobility-impaired person?

• Is the device suitable for use in an indoor environment? 

Designing for Sustainability and Resilience

Given the amount of effort required to bring an outdoor recreation vision to life, it makes sense to design experiences and assets that are durable and resilient to change. Consider how influences like visitation levels, user preferences, climate change, and other potential shifts may affect outdoor recreation in your community, and whether there are opportunities to build adaptability into your plans. 

One way to do this is to design assets for multiple compatible uses. This allows for evolution in user preferences while also clustering activities in one area, which helps minimize potential negative impacts on the land base. Effective communication and education for users of the asset can help minimize potential conflict. You can also think beyond outdoor recreation when developing new services or infrastructure. Is there some other community priority that can benefit from an outdoor recreation project? 

US Forest Service (Department of Agriculture) (2012). Accessibility Guidebook for Outdoor Recreation and Trails. https://cdn2.assets-servd.host/material-civet/production/images/documents/1223-2806P-AGORT-COL-08-20-13_Errata2Fixed_300dpi2_190413_200943.pdf?dm=1620062854

Neumann, P., & Mason, C. W. (2019). Managing land use conflict among recreational trail users: A sustainability study of cross-country skiers and fat bikers. Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism, 28, 100220. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jort.2019.04.002

Another critical consideration related to resilience is climate change. Changing temperature and precipitation patterns, more extreme weather, and related issues like flooding and wildfire affect outdoor recreation in multiple ways. There may be physical threats to your recreation infrastructure and users, an interruption in business activity, or a drop in levels of visitation (e.g., in instances of low snowpack or smoky skies). 

You can address this challenge by building outdoor recreation infrastructure that is resilient to climate change-related threats, but also consider what you can offer in terms of experiences that are weather-independent. For example, if water levels are too low for boating, is there another activity that would keep a visitor engaged? Perhaps there are cultural experience in your community that can be leveraged to improve the resilience of outdoor recreation-related tourism.

The US-based Outdoor Recreation Roundtable’s Rural Development Toolkit offers a few suggestions for opportunities to improve the climate resilience of outdoor recreation: 

• Include outdoor recreation considerations in your community’s disaster preparedness plans

• Consider severe weather and climate threats in the design of your infrastructure (e.g., buildings that follow Fire Smart standards, trails that do not erode under extreme rainfall)

• Do not build in areas that are susceptible to flooding or wildfire

• Educate businesses about climate risks and help them develop continuity plans

• Create business support services to help with recovery from disasters

Supporting Business Development

Businesses are important outdoor recreation assets, serving residents and visitors, as well as consumers and clients that are further away. Outdoor recreation businesses include those we often think about, like retail (e.g., ski shops) and experiential (e.g., guiding) businesses. But the outdoor recreation business ecosystem extends beyond tourism and recreation, including the design and manufacturing of outdoor recreation related goods, film, media, and more. It also includes businesses from related sectors like hospitality and construction. These opportunities for growing, supporting, and scaling up entrepreneurship and business development in your community should not be overlooked.

Your community may identify business development through outdoor recreation as a priority. What this looks like in practice will depend on your starting point. Make sure you connect with key people who already work closely with businesses – like the local Chamber of Commerce, Community Futures, and other economic development professionals, as well as identifying any economic development strategies that may exist – like a business retention and expansion program or workforce development program.

If you are uncertain what outdoor recreation businesses exist in your community, a good place to start could be to create an inventory. Keep in mind that not all businesses have storefronts, so don’t forget to look for virtual and home-based businesses. Once you know what businesses exist, conducting a business needs assessment (see the Understanding your Context section) can be a good way to understand the challenges local businesses are facing (e.g., workforce challenges), what could help then grow, opportunities for cross business collaboration, and where there are gaps that could be filled through business attraction activities. Wherever possible, support local ownership of outdoor recreation businesses. This helps retain the benefits of recreation-related spending within the local economy.

Design and manufacturing of outdoor recreation goods and apparel can be overlooked when thinking of local business. But we are seeing more of these businesses starting up across rural BC, often tied to the unique, place based outdoor recreation opportunities that exist in different places (e.g., small scale ski or bike manufacturers in communities known for their skiing or biking). Outdoor recreation industry groups like the Sea to Sky Outdoor Adventure Recreation Enterprise (SOARE) and the Kootenay Outdoor Recreation Enterprise (KORE) (see case study below), demonstrate the potential that exists, from businesses that serve residents to gear demonstration days to international events. 

Make sure you include local businesses – outdoor recreation related and others – in the planning and development of your community’s outdoor recreation vision. Local businesses can provide support, sponsorship for projects, and access to provincial and federal economic development funding. In turn, they benefit from increased customers. 

You’ve developed outdoor recreation experiences, assets, and programs with the intention that they be used. How do you get the word out to your target users? 

Marketing is an art and science that is most effective with good research about the target market. It is also a well-developed industry. For communities that have access to sufficient funding, this is a good time to bring in external expertise. 

Consider the carrying capacity of your community, available services and infrastructure, and local recreation offerings in your marketing campaigns. Use these campaigns to direct recreationists to areas that can absorb more visitors or, if your community is struggling to keep pace with visitation, consider pausing marketing until you have a visitor use management strategy in place. 

Marketing to Residents vs. Visitors

The audience for your marketing campaign is the same as the target audience for your community’s overall outdoor recreation development program. If your community is supportive of using outdoor recreation to grow a visitor economy, then your marketing can be targeted to areas and groups where those visitors are likely to be. If your community views outdoor recreation as a driver of health and quality of life for residents, then your marketing should be focused locally. 

DIFFERENTIATION and Brand Creation 

Branding is about creating a consistent voice and having a say in how outdoor recreation is perceived in your community and by visitors. Brands are most effective when outdoor recreation organizations and businesses from across the community can get behind it. For this reason, it’s important that the brand reflects the vision that your community worked collaboratively to define (see the Defining a Vision, Goals, and Actions section for more).

A brand should be rooted in place and help your community or region communicate what makes it different and special. In BC, it’s not enough to focus on hiking or mountain biking in a beautiful natural environment—the same can be said of many communities! 

Marketing Strategies

These are some of the tools you can use to get the word out. 

• Rack cards or brochures: You can either piggyback on printed materials already in circulation in your community or create your own. Consider including a brief description of your offering, an enticing photo, a map, and a contact or website where people can get more information. Distribution options include trailheads, visitor centres, accommodation providers, outdoor recreation businesses, and other local attractions (e.g., museums). 

• Website: An easy-to-find (search engine optimized), easy-to-navigate, and regularly updated site is a critical means of sharing information with your target market. 

• Social media: Social media can be time consuming to use to its fullest potential, but it is a very powerful tool for sharing updates with your user group and facilitating two-way conversations. The specific platform you use will depend on your target market. 

• Online listings: Aggregator sites like AllTrails, TripAdvisor, and Open Street Map can put your community or experience on the map.

• Influencers: Having or inviting established outdoor recreation influencers in your community can help spread the word, especially if you’re looking to attract visitors from outside the community.  

• Media: Media releases and radio interviews can be especially helpful for reaching local populations.

• Events: These can be small (e.g., a grand opening celebration) or very large (e.g., a regional festival). 

Data gathering is important at multiple points in outdoor recreation development. It can help you understand needs before you launch into a new initiative (see the Understanding your Context section for more) and understand whether and why your efforts have been successful. This section focuses on the latter. 

Quality data will help you make good decisions and support your messaging to funders and decision-makers.  It can also help you understand the impact (positive or negative) of outdoor recreation on your community and the environment, allowing you to adjust activities where needed, or identify logical next steps. 

Access to good information—especially defensible data on usage levels, economic impact, or environmental impact—is a recognized hurdle among outdoor recreation communities, particularly in rural places. Setting your community up to gather and make use of local-scale data will put you ahead of the pack when it comes to telling the story of outdoor recreation. 

Scalable Approaches to Monitoring

Monitoring can be simple or complex and you can scale it to match your community’s capacity. Costs increase with the number of data points needed, longer periods of fieldwork, and more extensive community consultation. Consider your return on investment of time and money. The efficiency of your monitoring program can be optimized by using existing data you already have access to or can get access to through developing agreements with other organizations (e.g., membership data, visitor centre records). A small amount of data, consistently collected, showing trends over time can be just as valuable – or more valuable – than a single point in time study.

Even for very small communities, there are times when an investment in high quality or detailed data (e.g., through equipment purchase or engagement of a research consultant) may be warranted. This might include when you need to determine if there is a case for a large grant application, or when you are planning to revisit your community’s overall outdoor recreation strategy. 

Review the research tools and approaches discussed in the Understanding your Context section for options spanning the range of high- to low-cost/effort. The research you completed before you launched your initiative can provide baseline data to use as a comparison in your monitoring program. 

Quantifiable Metrics

You will want to choose a set of ‘metrics’ or ‘indicators’ that you can use to track performance and impact over time. Use Worksheet 4 to sketch out a basic set of indicators for your community. Good quantifiable metrics are::

• Relevant: They should reflect your community’s outdoor recreation vision and goals or tell a story that needs to be told (e.g., a specific metric requested of a funding body).

• Measurable: They should be able to be measured consistently over time through a readily-available data source.

• Sensitive: They should be able to detect changes in the situation they are monitoring.

• Simple: Results should be easy to understand and facilitate effective communication.

• Actionable: You shouldn’t waste time or money measuring issues you can’t or won’t do anything about.

Indicators, as the name suggests, indicate. On their own, they don’t prove cause and effect, nor do they account for the influence of unrelated factors. But taken together, indicators can help you decide which areas of your operations need attention and follow up action.  

Some sample metrics that are relevant to outdoor recreation include: 

• Theme

  • Potential Indicators

• Relationships and support

  • - Number of formal partnerships and number of informal partnerships (can also track transition between)
    - Participation in volunteer initiatives (youth programs, trail building etc.)
    - Percent of community indicating support (through surveys etc.)
    - Attendance at community engagement events

• Use/visitation

  • - Participation in programming (skills clinics, camps, etc.)
    - Traffic at outdoor recreation access points
    - Memberships in outdoor recreation organizations
    - Number of permits or passes issued

• Environmental impact

  • - Incidence of invasive species
    - Incidence of human-wildlife conflict
    - Number of recreationists engaged through environmental education programs
    - Prevalence and impact of climate action measures (e.g., hectares of intact ecosystems preserved)

• Economic impact

  • - Value invested in new infrastructure
    - Number of direct jobs created (e.g., people hired to work directly on project)
    - Number if indirect jobs (e.g., number of people working for outdoor recreation related non profits and businesses within the community) 
    - Number of new businesses started or existing businesses expanded
    - Visitor expenditures on accommodation, gear, food, etc.

• Social impact

  • - Community health indicators like incidence (reduction) of certain conditions
    - Participation in group outdoor recreation activities
    - Percent of facilities or experiences that are accessible and/or inclusive
    - Percent of residents satisfied with local quality of life

• Financial sustainability

  • - Revenue collected for outdoor recreation (e.g., through user fees)
    - Value in reserve funds
    - Amount of paid vs. volunteer hours contributed

If your metrics rely on data that other organizations need to collect, ensure they are informed about this need and confirm their willingness to participate on an ongoing basis.  

Unquantifiable Metrics

Not everything can be accurately measured quantitatively (with numbers), and many community initiatives find that unquantifiable outcomes (qualitative or anecdotal) are some of the most important. Keeping track of lessons learned or intangible benefits (like improved community engagement or relationships) can help to substantiate the stories you tell with quantifiable data, and can also help explain trends in the data (e.g., a month long evacuation order that impacted visitor numbers that otherwise were increasing).

Acting on Results

Progress monitoring is an intentional process of taking stock. It will allow you to understand where you’ve made gains and where your activities have fallen short of objectives. Use results to adjust the short-term operational plans and budgets that guide your activities from year to year. For example, you may discover that the number of users at a new recreation area was lower than expected and determine based on the data that it is important to increase marketing. Or you might find that visitor satisfaction at one area is lower than the others and decide to explore why in order to direct volunteer hours toward improvements at that site. 

 It is also possible that, as a result of progress monitoring, you will come to realize that your goals and planned actions no longer accurately reflect what your community is trying to accomplish. This is a good time to revisit your community’s outdoor recreation vision and the comprehensive plans that serve that vision. As shown in Figure 3, monitoring and adjustments are part of a continuous cycle that sees plans evolve over time as community priorities shift and an initiative matures. 

You can also use monitoring results to celebrate successes and tell the story of your impact. This will help bolster support in your community, among partners, and with funders. 

Province of British Columbia (2024). Resident Retention and Attraction Guidebook for Rural British Columbia. https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/employment-business-and-economic-development/economic-development/find-support-organizations/rural-economic-development/rra_guidebook_fill_v4.pdf 

This first part of this worksheet is a SWOT analysis. The second is a series of questions that can help you prioritize which results need action. Not all sections will be relevant to your initiative. Choose those that matter to your community’s purpose and target audience.

Use this worksheet to identify the parties that need to be involved in outdoor recreation development in your community.

Use this worksheet to visualize how the various elements of your outdoor recreation plan relate to each other and collectively serve your purpose.

 Use this worksheet to choose metrics that are relevant and measurable for your community. The following worksheet will help you choose good metrics for your context.

This first part of this worksheet is a SWOT analysis. The second is a series of questions that can help you prioritize which results need action. Not all sections will be relevant to your initiative. Choose those that matter to your community’s purpose and target audience. 

Use this worksheet to identify the parties that need to be involved in outdoor recreation development in your community.

Use this worksheet to visualize how the various elements of your outdoor recreation plan relate to each other and collectively serve your purpose.

 Use this worksheet to choose metrics that are relevant and measurable for your community. The following worksheet will help you choose good metrics for your context.