On Wednesday, May 25 immediately following breakfast, conference participants brainstormed “Concerns about the Future of Outdoor Recreation” based on presentations and discussions from the previous day. These concerns were identified as impediments to the Yellowstone Business Partnership’s efforts to achieve sustainable outdoor recreation in the Yellowstone-Teton region. A total of 57 concerns was identified, as follows (listed alphabetically):

Affordability of recreation

Affordable housing for service providers

Availability of credible information to support choices, industry standards and self-policing

Business ecosystem

Capturing the consumer surplus

Changing demographics of recreationists

Changing technology

Commonalities within the business community

Coordination of information providers/visitor services

Demographics – aging and extreme sports

Developing trust in the science of the ecosystem

Development of sustainability measures

Educating the visitor

Encroachment of development on wild lands

Fairness regarding permitting

Fostering good science/making that science available to decision makers

Fostering sense of responsibility

Fragmentation of natural resources relative to land development

Funding for outdoor recreation

Habitat monitoring

Impact of climate change

Improved public communication

Increased impacts resulting from mass transit

Increased use of public lands as access to private land closes

Increasing communication needs

Increasing specialization within recreation

Integrated regional trail system

Integrated regional transportation system

Internet use to support

Lack of consensus on objectives between the agencies and businesses

Maintenance of energy and dialogue

Managing incompatible uses

Managing the herds towards underutilized areas

Multi-state fishing licenses

Multi-state hunting licenses

Myth that recreation has no impact – and the need to get data to support decisions

Need for professionalism among the agencies and the providers

Old West/New West culture clash

Partnerships that will support preservation and enhancement of the resource (especially non-profits)

Promoting smart growth

Promoting sustainability and adaptation in the outdoor recreation business

Property rights versus the political system

Public-private partnerships

Quiet (value of)

Recreation fees – use of public lands managing that impact

Resource capacity

Responsibilities of business and private land owner regarding recreation on public lands

Social equity regarding access

Stewardship

Stratified communities

Town/gown relationships

Travel

Understanding the business of recreation – and how it relates to the rest of the business community

Water

What we do here will have international ramifications

Wildlife habitat destruction

Yellowstone to Yukon system/wildlife corridor

During the next session, conference participants gathered into three roundtable discussion groups based on defined watersheds, including:

•          Upper Snake and Green River Basins (Caribou-Targhee and Bridger-Teton National Forests)

•          Wind River, Bighorn, and Clark Fork Basins (Shoshone and Custer National Forests)

•          Upper Missouri and Upper Yellowstone River Basins (Gallatin and Beaverhead National Forests)

Each roundtable discussion was facilitated to achieve the following objectives:

•          Rank the concerns identified by the group as a whole

•          Develop a path forward for addressing those concerns of highest priority for their defined watershed

The results of the ranking by all three roundtable groups are provided below:

Concerns about the Future of Outdoor Recreation	Upper Snake & Green River Basins	Wind River, Bighorn, & Clark Fork basins	Upper Missouri/ Upper Yellowstone River Basins	Total Dots Allocated
Development of sustainability measures	7	5	2	14
Educating the visitor	2	3	9	14
Old West/New West culture clash	1	2	11	14
Quiet (value of)	2	2	10	14
Availability of credible information to support choices, industry standards and self-policing	7	0	6	13
Water	7	2	3	12
Funding for outdoor recreation	8	0	3	11
Integrated regional trail system	9	0	1	10
Myth that recreation has no impact – and the need to get data to support decisions	7	1	2	10
Fostering good science/making that science available to decision makers	8	0	1	9
Responsibilities of business and private land owner regarding recreation on public lands	0	0	8	8
Social equity regarding access	4	4	0	8
Stewardship	3	0	5	8
Wildlife habitat destruction	3	3	2	8
Encroachment of development on wild lands	2	3	2	7
Fragmentation of natural resources relative to land development	3	3	1	7
Maintenance of energy and dialogue	4	0	3	7
Resource capacity	4	2	1	7
Town/gown relationships	1	2	4	7
Impact of climate change	1	3	2	6
Integrated regional transportation system	5	0	1	6
Partnerships that will support preservation and enhancement of the resource (especially non-profits)	0	0	6	6
Promoting sustainability and adaptation in the outdoor recreation business	1	1	4	6
Developing trust in the science of the ecosystem	3	0	2	5
Increased use of public lands as access to private land closes	0	1	4	5
Lack of consensus on objectives between the agencies and businesses	2	0	3	5
Managing the herds towards underutilized areas	2	0	3	5
Multi-state fishing licenses	3	2	0	5
Coordination of information providers/visitor services	2	1	1	4
Fairness regarding permitting	1	0	3	4
Public-private partnerships	3	0	1	4
Travel	3	0	1	4
Yellowstone to Yukon system/wildlife corridor	1	0	3	4
Affordable housing for service providers	1	2	0	3
Changing demographics of recreationists	2	0	1	3
Fostering sense of responsibility	3	0	0	3
Recreation fees – use of public lands managing that impact	0	0	3	3