Program Overview

Project Purpose

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service, and the Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC) have selected 10 communities under the Recreation Economy for Rural Communities program to help revitalize their Main Streets through outdoor recreation.[1] This planning assistance program is designed to foster environmentally friendly community development and Main Street revitalization through conservation and sustainable use of public or private forests or other natural resources, such as:

  • Ensuring residents, including young people, have connections and opportunities related to nearby outdoor assets to foster community pride, good stewardship, and local economic and health benefits.
  • Developing or expanding trail networks to attract overnight visitors and new businesses and foster use by residents.
  • Developing in-town amenities, such as broadband service, housing, or shops, restaurants, or breweries, to serve residents and attract new visitors and residents with an interest in nearby outdoor assets.
  • Marketing Main Street as a gateway to nearby natural lands to capture and amplify outdoor recreation dollars.
  • Developing a community consensus on the management of outdoor assets to reduce potential conflicts and ensure sustainable use of resources.

The program is in its inaugural year but will be built on the successful models of planning assistance developed for the Local Foods, Local Places[2] and Healthy Places for Healthy People[3] programs. Ten communities will receive assistance in 2019-2020. Recreation Economy for Rural Communities planning assistance involves a two-day workshop in each community that brings together federal and state agencies with local stakeholders to identify strategies to the outdoor recreation economy and assets as a catalyst for downtown and neighborhood revitalization. Each workshop will result in a community-driven action plan laying out specific steps the community can take to achieve its goals. These workshops forge the connections between outdoor recreation assets, place-based considerations, and community and economic development goals.

The communities selected to participate in the Recreation Economy for Rural Communities program in 2019 are shown in Figure 1 below. Applications to the Recreation Economy for Rural Communities program were evaluated for their commitment to advancing revitalization of their core downtown and Main Street areas by linking to and building on their outdoor recreation assets and economy.

[1] https://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/recreation-economy-rural-communities

[2] https://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/local-foods-local-places

[3] https://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/healthy-places-healthy-people