CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Outdoor recreation means 90,000 jobs and $9 billion in consumer spending for West Virginia, according to a new report.

The Outdoor Industry Association found recreation pays $2.4 billion in wages and more than $650 million in state and local taxes, even before that money moves out through the local economy.

Kenny Parker, co-owner of Water Stone Outdoors in Fayetteville, says the best part is that there's room to grow.

"Go to say, Bar Harbor, Maine, or any of those places and just count the number of businesses," he says. "This place could accommodate a lot more businesses that are owned by individuals who create their own job."

Observers sometimes downplay the outdoor industry's impact, arguing it creates many part-time, low-pay jobs. But Parker says when the number is 90,000 jobs, there's going to be room at the top. Plus, he says the money that comes in with tourists rolls over into other, unrelated businesses.

Dave Arnold, a founder and vice president of Adventures on the Gorge, started out running whitewater rafts decades ago. Now, he's the vice-president of an adventure resort company. He says West Virginia is within a long drive of as much as half of the U.S. population. The problem, Arnold says, is they don't know how great it is here.

"What that means is that you've got to really, really sell," Arnold says. "I mean, they'll come, but we have to sing the song loud, and we have to sing the song in unison."

Arnold points out the state spent about $30 million on tourism marketing at its peak - now that's under $10 million.

Parker agrees tourism marketing is a pretty sure thing for a state that has struggled with many kinds of economic insecurity. He says, for instance, getting a Birthplace of Rivers National Monument would be what he calls a "no-brainer."

"Everyone's going to benefit from it," notes Parker. "The National Park Service arrowhead logo, I mean, it brings dollars to an economy."

A recent poll done for the West Virginia Rivers Coalition and the National Wildlife Federation saw strong support for monument designation statewide. It also found very strong opposition to selling off public lands in other states.


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Nevada is still waiting for official designation of a new national monument. In late November, President Joe Biden said he is "committed" to protecting Avi Kwa Ame, known by some as Spirit Mountain, an area spanning about 450,000 acres near Laughlin. But it hasn't happened yet.

Conservation groups and tribes say making Avi Kwa Ame a national monument would align with Biden's "30 by 30" campaign, which aims to protect 30% of U.S. land and waters by 2030.

Russell Kuhlman, Executive Director of Nevada Wildlife Federation, called the designation "the missing key" to tristate-level land protections in the Western U.S.

"With this designation, it's really going to be a big jump forward in accomplishing President Biden's '30 x 30' initiative," Kuhlman said. "Now the question is, 'How else can we move that needle towards that goal?'"

Opponents of protecting more public land want to see the area used in other ways. Backers of the Kulning Wind Energy Project have proposed a 310-megawatt wind farm within the boundaries of the proposed national monument to provide energy to Nevada and California.

Kuhlman said as the State of Nevada starts transitioning to renewable energy, conservation groups want to be sure wildlife and their habitat are not forgotten. This echoes a similar directive from the Bureau of Land Management that now prioritizes protecting lands that connect wildlife migration corridors.

Kuhlman said the desert floor within the proposed monument boundaries have federal protections above standard BLM lands, but the mountain and ridgetops do not.

"That is where Nevada state mammals - the bighorn sheep, mule deer and a lot of other wildlife - reside. Protecting these areas from water source to water source is what, really, our organization got involved in," he said.

Kuhlman said Nevada will be the new frontier for how renewable energy if alternatives can be increase responsibly. He thinks designation of the Avi Kwa Ame national monument will help set the example - while also ensuring that historic, cultural and biodiverse lands receive protection.

Get in shape. It's a common New Year's resolution, but research shows the Japanese practice of Shinrin-yoku - or "forest bathing" - has multiple benefits for mental and physical health.

Studies show that forest bathing, which is basically getting outside and soaking up some nature, can improve mood.

Dr. Suzanne Bartlett Hackenmiller, chief medical adviser for the app AllTrails - an outdoor hiking and recreation app to help find trails - said researchers from Stanford analyzed MRI data and found that time in nature actually decreases activity in the part of the brain responsible for depression and anxiety.

"They've found that 90 minutes of walking in a natural setting," said Bartlett Hackenmiller, "participants reported less of what we call rumination - just that cycle of spinning negative, stressful thoughts - than people who walked in an urban setting."

She cited a raft of studies that expand on the benefits of getting out in nature. One showed that it helps people reach their fitness goals, because exercising outdoors is more enjoyable, so people are more likely to repeat it.

Nature walks have also been linked to better memory, a boost in immune function, and lowered stress hormones, blood pressure and cancer risk.

Free online apps can help people venture out safely. Here's Meaghan Praznik, head of communications for AllTrails.

"Our built-in navigator helps people make sure that they're never going to miss a turn, and they can follow along the route," said Praznik. "We also have printable maps, which give people a backup map, or even the ability to download offline maps in case you are to lose service."

Other studies have shown time spent in the great outdoors with a group of friends is even more beneficial than walking alone.

And they show that living in an area with higher "surrounding greenness" can affect the genes linked to mental health disorders, tumors and metabolic disease.

The Environmental Protection Agency has ordered the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to stop oil and other toxic chemical discharges into the Columbia River in Washington and Oregon.

Recent spills have the issue back at the forefront. The group Columbia Riverkeeper sued the Corps last year, noting the pollutants harm fish and other wildlife in the Columbia and Snake Rivers.

Miles Johnson, senior attorney for the group, said the permits address four dams along the river identified as pollution sources, and the problem is bigger than petroleum and chemical pollution.

"In addition, the dams create big reservoirs that soak up the sun's energy and make the river too hot for salmon and Steelhead," Johnson explained. "The permits that EPA issued to the Army Corps are a directive to deal with some of those problems."

In operating the dams, the Corps will be required to use environmentally friendly lubricants, pay closer attention to water temperatures in those reservoirs and remove water from some if they get too hot for the fish to survive.

The issue was highlighted again recently when between 300 and 600 gallons of oil leaked into the Snake River from a turbine at Little Goose dam in Eastern Washington. Johnson pointed out such pollution has become a pattern with the Corps and has to be monitored and addressed constantly.

"Sometimes it's one gallon, sometimes it's five gallons, sometimes it's hundreds of gallons or even thousands of gallons," Johnson outlined. "And sometimes that oil contains toxic chemicals like PCBs. And after watching it happen over and over again, Columbia Riverkeeper took action, which is what we do when someone illegally discharges pollution into the river."

The EPA took the action under the Clean Water Act. Columbia Riverkeeper has sued federal and state agencies multiple times and continues to monitor Northwest waterways and the wildlife that depend on them.