Students, advocates speak in favor of outdoor recreation bill

The Outdoor Recreation Trust Fund was created and funded last year, but the governance structure was removed from that bill, according to sponsor Rep. Sandy Newsome, R-Cody. In 2023, lawmakers approved a $6 million recurring biennial appropriation from the Wyoming Tourism Reserve and Projects Account, with $4 million to the Wyoming Outdoor Recreation and Tourism Trust Fund Account and $2 million earmarked for an income account.

“This bill simply creates a governance structure,” Newsome said.

But the students say they have faced misunderstanding about the bill.

“We have had senators say that this would increase lodging tax or drive tourists away, but really this wouldn’t change anything about lodging tax. It would just put money already there to use,” Cody for Justice member Ingrid Anderson, a high school junior, said Tuesday.

According to Newsome, who spoke in front of the Senate Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources Committee, the governance structure for the new fund was modeled after the state’s Natural Resources Wildlife Trust Fund. It will include a secretary, who will be a state parks employee.

David Glenn, director of Wyoming State Parks, Historic Sites and Trails, said that adding that an administrative program to manage the Outdoor Recreation Trust Fund would help communities manage growth at the local level. Outdoor recreation, he explained, is a $2.2 billion industry that constitutes 4.1% of the state’s GDP. It also accounts for about 16,000, or 5.6%, of all jobs in the state.

“Our outdoor recreation economy in the state of Wyoming is the fourth-fastest growing in the country,” Glenn said. “If a community is looking to create some outdoor recreation infrastructure, this fund can help them. If they don’t want it, that works just fine, as well.”

Sen. Mike Gierau, D-Jackson, described the fund, and its administration, as a “bottom-up solution.”

“The communities get together and see what they want to do. They will come to this group that we are forming through this governance piece, and then do the projects they are tailoring for their communities,” Gierau said.

Glenn agreed.

Sen. Stacy Jones, R-Rock Springs, asked if the funding opportunities will be spread across the state.

“Some areas of the state are better at asking for the grants and coming up with the ideas, but I think it is important that it is statewide funds and that everyone knows about them,” Jones said.

Patrick Harrington, manager of the Wyoming Outdoor Recreation Office, replied that part of the goal will be to support smaller, more rural communities.

“I think the vision is that we will support communities as they grow the projects, in the direction that they want to grow,” Harrington said.

Cody for Justice member Sunday Schuh also testified in front of the committee.

“We were here yesterday talking to a lot of senators about House Bill 67,” Schuh said, adding that she also encountered confusion.

“This fund was already created. Some people were like, ‘I don’t want to build a new trust, have more governance,’” Schuh said. “The fund is already there. The money is already there. The annual lodging tax has already been added. The $6 million every two years has already been added.”

After the committee meeting, Schuh and Anderson headed up to the Senate lobby to speak with more lawmakers Tuesday.

“This is a great bill for diversifying Wyoming’s economy and for increasing our recreation,” Schuh said.

Steff Kessler, representing the Wyoming Outdoor Recreation Business Alliance, said during the committee meeting that the state needs investments in its infrastructure to responsibly grow outdoor recreation. The bill, she said, supports economic diversification. Without the administrative tools to run the trust fund, communities will not be able to guide work at a local level.

“We want to ensure that these investments for infrastructure happen on Wyoming’s terms,” Kessler said, referencing language included that addressing planning and design work.

Wyoming Wildlife Federation government affairs director Jess Johnson said the grant program will look at a broad spectrum of outdoor activities.

“This is a grant that we look at as the full package of Wyoming. It is everything from biking and hiking to shooting sports to equestrian stuff. It covers all of it, and we see it as a real win for the state,” Johnson said, adding that ARPA grants, in recent years, left out shooting sports, leaving a hole in funding for “safe places to learn to shoot.”

Aidan Gallagher, also a member of Cody for Justice, reiterated to the committee that HB 67 does not include an increase in taxes.

“One thing a lot of senators were concerned or confused about is the fact that the trust fund comes from lodging tax,” Gallagher said. “One of their main concerns was the increase in lodging tax, but the thing is, this bill includes none of that. There is no increase in the lodging tax. It is using what is already there.”

Committee Chairperson Sen. Wendy Schuler, R-Evanston, thanked the students for coming.

“You make some really good points for our senators,” Schuler said. “I think they listen to the kids, young people, more than us.”

The committee passed HB 67 with a 5-0 vote, so it will head to the Senate floor next.