Idaho Business for the Outdoors Winter Updates
Wrapping up Adopt-The-Greenbelt with our Business Members
Boise Parks and Recreation maintains approximately 25 miles of greenbelt along the river, which is no small task. It takes a lot of work to keep the greenbelt and river safe, clean, and healthy. Volunteers play an essential role in supporting this important resource. Rubbish removal and riparian restoration work, including invasive species extraction and wrapping trees to protect them from beaver damage help to maintain the river system for its human visitors and wildlife inhabitants. Investing time in these shared outdoor spaces builds awareness for the importance of public lands and the many benefits they have to offer.
To close out the year, Idaho Business for the Outdoors had several fantastic groups of volunteers come out to help us clean up on one of the most visited stretches of the Boise Greenbelt as part of our Adopt-The-Greenbelt program put on with the City of Boise. Our business members and their volunteers from Boise Cascade and Regence Blueshield took on habitat restoration and preservation by cleaning up trash and removing noxious weeds along the Boise River. Thank you so much for investing time in creating a cleaner and brighter future for our public lands!
Boise Cascade Volunteers
Regence Blueshield Volunteers
"Boise Parks and Recreation is incredibly grateful for all the volunteers that help create and maintain safe, healthy, and vibrant parks and open spaces across our community. Through participating in the Adopt-A-Greenbelt and Adopt-A-Habitat programs, Idaho Business for the Outdoors has engaged a different business every month in caring for and enhancing these important public spaces. Thanks so much to Idaho Business for the Outdoors for your dedication to our community!" Kristin Gnojewski from the City of Boise's Parks and Recreation.
We also want to recognize our other Adopt-The-Greenbelt business members volunteer groups from 2022: Albertsons, CDI, Treefort, and Scentsy. We are so grateful for your dedication to keeping our outdoors and public spaces clean and safe for everyone. We can't thank you enough for your hard work! If you are interested in joining us for a volunteer day next year, please reach out to Skylar Jett at skylarjett@idahobo.org or Anna Naylor at annanaylor@idahobo.org.
Adopt-A-Pollinator with Horizon Elementary School and Republic Services
As part of Idaho Business for the Outdoors'Adopt-a-Pollinator garden program, Republic Services and Boise Parks and Recreation helped us get Horizon Elementary students outside to learn about the importance of recycling, composting, and pollination in their local park. During the project, students learned about the importance of pollinator plants, then had the opportunity to plant Rabbitbrush in Mariposa Park; they learned about different kinds of seeds that they were able to collect and take home; they learned what should and should not be put in their recycling and compost bins, and how that's connected to protecting and preserving the environment.
We would like to extend a special thank you to Republic Services and Boise Parks and Recreation for our most recent Adopt-a-Pollinator event. We couldn't have done it without you!
Regence Blueshield and Horizon Elementary
This event fits within a broader goal IBO has to connect more kids to outdoor spaces and parks near them for learning and connecting with nature. Research shows that children's school performance increases when children learn outdoors and especially through hands-on outdoor learning. Studies also indicate outdoor learning experiences are the foundation of raising the next generation of active citizens who take care of the outdoors. Our hope is to be able to expand this program to other Idaho schools and parks.
We also want to recognize all of our business members, and volunteers who helped make our Adopt-a-Pollinator program happen in 2022! Thank you to Albertsons, Hayden Beverage, and Republic Services for coming out to support such an essential outdoor education opportunity for our local schools!
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) Outdoor Recreation Results
The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) recently released exciting new statistics that measure the outdoor recreation economy for the nation, all 50 states, and the District of Columbia. Since formalized, the data has been a legitimizing factor and a powerful advocacy tool at both the state and national levels, as the numbers make it easier for policymakers to fathom the economic potential of the outdoor recreation industry across the nation and in their own districts or states.The analysis tool also allows us to compare year-over-year growth in every category of Idaho's recreation economy. More data helps us plan, grow, and properly fund the outdoors as a dynamic and vital part of our Idaho economy.
Here are some key findings for the 2021 BEA Outdoor Recreation Results:
2.9% of the state of Idaho's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is from outdoor recreation
32,478 jobs in Idaho are in the outdoor recreation industry
Outdoor recreation accounted for $862.0 billion in gross economic output
Outdoor recreation spending accounts for 1.9% of the total GDP, up from 1.8% in 2020
Outdoor recreation supports more than 4.5M jobs in America, up from 4.3M in 2020
SAVE THE DATE
Learn Over Lunch: Feeding the People and Tending the Land
Join Idaho Business for the Outdoors on January 11 from 11:30am - 12:30pm for our first Learn Over Lunch of 2023! “Feeding the People and Tending the Land'' will be moderated by Amy Mattias, the Program Director for the Sun Valley Institute for Resilience. We will be discussing the role farmers and ranchers play in climate change, from planting native windbreaks, to sequestering carbon through regenerative practices, to reducing food miles by growing and selling within local markets. Our speakers will cover the value of providing a voice for all sectors in the industry, the idea of a patchwork of public and private lands across Idaho, and the importance of food locally, nationally, and globally.
We will be joined by a group of panelists who are innovative ranchers and farmers, who are going above and beyond the status quo to ensure the land, water, and air in which they depend gets regenerated for all. Our panelists are Wilder Jones from Wild Spaces Farm, Brett Stevenson from Hillside Grain, and Glenn Elzinga from Alderspring Ranch.
Registration information coming soon.
Recovering America's Wildlife Act (RAWA)
Our mission is to provide a collective, non-partisan business voice that advocates for healthy lands, open space, and swimmable, fishable, and drinkable waterways. We value our lands and the important habitat they provide. This growing wildlife crisis poses a threat to Idaho’s important outdoor economy. Hunters, fishers, hikers, campers, and other outdoor enthusiasts have created a growing outdoor consumer base that depends on healthy wildlife populations. Today, the outdoor economy contributes $887 billion to our national economy annually, creates 7.6 million direct jobs, and generates $124.5 billion in federal, state, and local tax revenue.
Idaho Business for the Outdoors supports the passage of the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act (RAWA), a strong, bipartisan solution that will help thousands of at-risk species by investing in cost-effective, collaborative efforts that match the magnitude of the wildlife crisis. It would provide Idaho Fish and Game with $17 million a year for actions such as improving forest resilience, restoring rivers and addressing invasive species to help recover 205 wildlife in-state species.
The RAWA will benefit both people and wildlife; diverse fish and wildlife and their habitats provide important contributions like clean water and air, flood prevention, pollination and carbon capture. Proactive conservation is good for wildlife, good for taxpayers, and good for business. We support the passage of the RAWA, which gives direct dedicated funding into the Wildlife Conservation and Restoration Program.
Idaho Business for the Outdoors' Steps Toward Accessibility
As part of our commitment to providing a more accessible and inclusive environment, Idaho Business for the Outdoors is currently working on a complete accessibility website overhaul to meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), the official international standard to make web content more accessible to people with disabilities. We hope this will allow people with all abilities to access the information we share.
In addition to the accessibility website edit, we will be taking steps to ensure that our social media platforms are more accessible as well. This includes implementing alt-text in photos, adding captions to our videos, and making our text screen-reader capable. It is important to us that all of our supporters, business members, and friends are able to access our content. Our mission is to provide a collective, nonpartisan business voice in support of the investments, jobs, innovations, revenues, and wellness benefits sustained through the preservation of Idaho’s outdoors and publics lands. Our scenic bike trails, rivers, lakes, and mountains. are vital to our quality of life. Everyone deserves to reap those benefits, regardless of ability.
If at any time you encounter any accessibility issues on our website or with our content, please don't hesitate to reach out to annanaylor@idahobo.org.
Thank You to Our Business Members!
We are proud to have so many business leaders supporting our organization. Idaho Business for the Outdoors' members span our state's business industries and represent a united, nonpartisan business voice in support of the economic and wellness benefits associated with Idaho's outdoors. Thank you to all of you for stepping forward to collaborate and support Idaho's lands and waters!
Business Member Highlight: RedBuilt, LLC
We appreciate Redbuilt, LLC for being one of our valued business members! Thank you for being part of Idaho’s collective business voice in support of the protection and and preservation of our public lands.