Outdoor recreation is one of the top three money making industries in Wyoming, and a new organization hopes to help grow that potential even further. The National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) and Flitner Strategies in Jackson have recently partnered to form the Wyoming Outdoor Business Association. 

Flitner Strategies President Sara Flitner said one thing most Wyomingites agree on is their love for Wyoming’s great outdoors.

“We have so much to offer in the state in terms of people being able to fish and to float and to hike,” said Flitner. “So I think it just couldn’t come at a better time in terms of the challenges that our state faces, getting people to think about how do we create opportunities for the sustainability of our communities and for generations to come after.”

Flitner said the mission of the new organization is to attract the same kind of benefits received by other industries, like energy and agriculture, to outdoor recreation.

“Lots of our industries in the state have been incentivized through tax policies, through economic development bonus incentives. And certainly having some specific ideas of how to do that for the outdoor industry would be a great place to start the conversation.”

Flitner says the group hopes to shape policy that encourages local and state governments to invest more in outdoor businesses.