Op-Ed: In rural Vermont, outdoor recreation is fueling local economies and strengthening community life.

By: Vermont ANR Secretary Julie Moore

At this time of year, ask a Vermonter or visitor what they did last weekend, and the answer is often hiking, camping, biking, paddling or casting a line. Spending time outdoors is part of Vermont's identity: how we connect with ourselves, our families, and our communities. But outdoor recreation is more than a pastime. It also supports local businesses, creates jobs, and contributes to the vitality of rural communities.

As the Vermont Outdoor Recreation Economic Collaborative (VOREC) approaches its 10^th anniversary, it's clear how far the state has come in investing in recreation, alongside the state's working lands sectors, as part of the bedrock of rural resilience.

Federal data put outdoor recreation's contribution to Vermont's economy at $2.2 billion in 2024, nearly 5 percent of state GDP, among the highest shares in the country. That reaches well beyond ski resorts. It includes bike shops and guide services, gear makers and outfitters, innkeepers and restauranteurs, and the many small businesses near the trails and waterways that visitors come to enjoy.

That matters most in rural communities, where year-round jobs and new customers can be hard to come by. A well-kept trail network, accessible dock or town forest, can draw visitors through a village center and into its shops, in addition to keeping residents healthy and connected to the land and one another.

In 2017, Governor Scott signed an executive order that created VOREC and charged it with growing expanding opportunities for outdoor recreation and fostering economic growth. Vermont has put real money behind this idea.

Over the past decade, the state has invested more than $31 million in community recreation grants, through programs built for Vermont-size towns and villages. VOREC grants, for example, require no local match. They can range from $7,500 to $50,000, a scale that suits a selectboard or a volunteer trail group. Land and Water Conservation Fund grants help towns build and improve parks and infrastructure projects, and the Recreational Trails Program supports trail construction and restoration. Together, these programs turn local plans into treasured community assets and destinations for visitors.

Nowhere is this more visible than along the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail. The 93-mile corridor, which follows the old Lamoille Valley Railroad from Swanton to St. Johnsbury, took decades and more than $30 million in state and federal investment to build. Now that the full trail is open, reporting shows ridership climbing, and local operators like Johnson's Lamoille Valley Bike Tours report a big jump in rail-trail tourism. But a trail alone doesn't revitalize a town - connections to local businesses do.

That is where VOREC grants come in. Danville used one to revive its 150-year-old train station as an information hub. Visitors stop to use the accessible restrooms and are connected to nearby opportunities to get a sandwich and a place to stay the night. St. Johnsbury's new signage and wayfinding guide cyclists and pedestrians toward and around downtown, where they can pick up souvenirs at small businesses and local apples and cheeses to keep them fortified on the trail at the brand-new co-op. Many of these are small, practical projects that benefit both residents and visitors: a sign, a trailhead kiosk, a bridge, a place to ask where to eat. VOREC grants are a critical step in converting an out-of-town visitor into a repeat customer for the bike shop, the general store, and the B&B, and an evangelist for the town and region.

These projects aren't funded at random. Move Forward Together Vermont, the state's ten-year plan for outdoor recreation, grew out of 18 months of focus groups, surveys and feedback sessions with residents, business owners, planners and funders. It is a shared vision, based on what over 2500 Vermonters have told us they need and want, not a plan handed down from Montpelier.

As we approach the 10^th anniversary of VOREC, communities across Vermont have an opportunity to continue to build on this progress. Applications for several recreation grant programs are now open, including the Recreational Trails Program, Land and Water Conservation Fund, and the VOREC Community Grants Program.

We encourage communities to explore these opportunities and bring forward the next set of projects that will continue to fuel Vermont's quiet economic engine that is outdoor recreation.

Julie Moore is the Secretary of the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, the state agency with primary responsibility for protecting and sustaining Vermont's environment, natural resources, wildlife and forests, and for maintaining Vermont's beloved state parks. Moore was named to that position by Governor Phil Scott in January 2017. As ANR Secretary, Moore shapes Vermont's environmental agenda, focusing on water quality, the forest economy, and the importance of conservation.