Last week, I had the honor of joining the Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) for their annual Capitol Summit in Washington, D.C. This event brought together 80 industry leaders from across the country to speak up for the future of outdoor recreation, public lands, and the economic health of our industry. I want to start with a sincere thank you to the OIA for their meticulous planning, tireless advocacy, and unwavering commitment to representing the outdoor industry at the federal level. Their leadership created the space for voices like mine to be heard, and I’m proud to have participated.
The Capitol Summit is one of our industry’s most impactful advocacy events, and this year’s theme was crystal clear: the stakes for outdoor recreation and public lands have never been higher. With a dual focus on tariffs and recreation, OIA classified participants accordingly and organized us regionally to ensure our meetings with legislators were relevant and targeted. I joined the East Coast recreation team, whose mission was to highlight the challenges and opportunities facing public lands management.
Over two days, we met with congressional leaders and staffers from both sides of the aisle, and I was fortunate to shake hands with Congressman Gabe Vasquez of New Mexico. Congressman Vasquez is co-sponsoring the bipartisan Public Lands in Public Hands Act, a bill that would protect against large-scale transfers of sales of land managed by the U.S. Department of the Interior and Forest Service. We had the opportunity to attend a powerful policy briefing featuring Congressman Vasquez, organized and co-sponsored by the nonprofit Outdoor Alliance. The briefing also included four insightful panelists representing the outdoor recreation, hunting, and fishing communities, underscoring the broad coalition of support for protecting public lands.
Throughout our meetings, we carried an important message: federal public lands are a vast and vital part of American life and need serious, sustained support. One-third of U.S. land, equating to roughly 840 million acres, is federally managed. This includes iconic landscapes like national parks and monuments, national forests, and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) areas. These lands serve many purposes: recreation, conservation, cultural preservation, wildlife protection, grazing, and economic development for rural communities.
However, these millions of acres face significant challenges, not least of which is chronic understaffing. Even before 2025, federal land management agencies like the Forest Service and Department of the Interior were stretched thin, managing record visitation rates with minimal staff. According to the 2024 Outdoor Participation Trends Report from OIA, outdoor recreation participation grew by 4.1% in 2023, reaching an all-time high of 175.8 million Americans—that’s 57.3% of all people aged six and older. The report also notes a surge in new and more diverse participants, including women, people of color, and seniors. This continued growth is promising, but it also amplifies the need for sufficient funding and staffing to ensure safe and enjoyable experiences for everyone. (You can access the Executive Summary of that report.)
As I was reminded during our congressional meetings, this staffing shortfall isn’t just about closed bathrooms and unkempt trails—it impacts safety, maintenance, emergency response, and visitor services. When fire season hits, under-resourced agencies won’t be ready to respond. And when gateway communities rely on outdoor tourism for their local economies, poorly managed public lands can have profound ripple effects.
One crucial piece of legislation we advocated for is the reauthorization of the National Parks and Public Lands Legacy Restoration Fund (LRF), which was established through the Great American Outdoors Act of 2020. This fund provided $1.9 billion annually for five years to address the long-deferred maintenance backlog across our federal land management agencies. The LRF is due to expire in fall 2025, and without reauthorization, we risk losing one of the most impactful conservation and infrastructure investments in recent history. Extending this program is a must for the future of public lands, recreation, and rural economies.
Coming away from this experience, I feel a renewed sense of purpose and urgency. The outdoor industry has a powerful voice, and when we unite around shared values—access, equity, conservation, and economic opportunity, we can move mountains. The Capitol Summit reminded me that advocacy is not just about legislation; it’s about showing up, telling our stories, and ensuring our leaders know that public lands and the outdoor industry matter.
I encourage anyone passionate about the outdoors to get involved. Whether through organizations like OIA, Outdoor Alliance, or your local advocacy group, always remember your voice makes a difference.