It seems like every week听we publish a story about some new front opening up in the war on our nation鈥檚 public lands. (See: The Next Great Western Land War.) But听there鈥檚 one state where the opposite is happening, and it鈥檚 not one you might听expect.听
Say 鈥淣ew York,鈥 and you think of the city. But in addition to all the sky scrapers, New York has five million acres of public land, including the largest state park in the nation鈥攖he 9,375-square-mile Adirondack Park. All that land is incredibly important to the state economy and quality of life for New Yorkers. So, rather than pull a Utah and attempt to cede all those acres to energy extractors, New York is听investing hundreds of millions of dollars in protecting its wild places听and making them more accessible for听everyone.听
According to the , outdoor recreation is responsible for 313,000 direct jobs in New York鈥攏early double the number of people who work in the state鈥檚 financial sector. Outdoor rec in the state is also responsible for $41.8 billion in consumer spending annually, and $3.6 billion in state and local taxes. All that is generated by people hiking, camping, hunting, fishing, or similar, so it's smart of the state to reinvest a portion of those proceeds back into the lands that make all those activities possible. New York is putting听$300 million annually into its听, and an additional $50 million per听year into听a program called , which is designed to improve access.听
Part of that initiative is the听, which the state has decided to bring back this year following the success of a limited trial in 2017. This is exactly what it sounds like: a program to get families who鈥檝e never camped before into the outdoors鈥攆or free. Participants will get a campsite, all the necessary camping gear, and even firewood. And a 鈥渃amping ambassador鈥 will be on-hand to show them how to use it and help them with activities like fishing and hikes.听
鈥淲e noticed that at some campgrounds, the same names were signing up to reserve them year after year,鈥 explains Lori Severino, a First-Time Camper program representative. 鈥淭hat indicated to us that we needed to do something to encourage more people to take part.鈥
Only 52 percent of New York residents participate in outdoor activities, according to OIA. That's compared to most Western states, where participation often exceeds听70 percent. It鈥檚 hard to get out of a major city and into the outdoors, and urban residents may not realize how many wild places exist so close to their homes. That contributes in part to the outdoor recreation industry's听diversity problem. New York wants to start changing that, as well as听bolster consumer spending and job creation.听
Last year, the听program got听150 people camping for the first time. In a survey听following the experience, 100 percent of the campers stated that they were very satisfied with the experience, and 90 percent stated they were extremely likely to go camping again. Even expanded for this year, the program will only serve 65 families, but the hope is that they will go back to their communities and encourage others to give it a try, too.听
Interested? Participants are selected by lottery, with applications accepted from May 10 to 13, for trips in July and August.
鈥淲e want to go into the cities, and show people that they can do this, too,鈥 says Severino.听
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