Outdoor Industry Seminar

From an Outdoor Industry Association press release:

"The outdoor industry needs to build appreciation for all outdoor places – from iconic wild lands like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to the 1/8-acre restored lot in Brooklyn," commented Larry Selzer, "Both are powerful and important in engaging people in the outdoors and developing future stewards of the environment. To motivate urban children to visit and relate to Yellowstone National Park is a gigantic leap. We need to start small and take many steps to bring them along."

More here.

Bass Pro Gets Active

I've been hearing a Bass Pro Shop advertisement on the radio the past few days where folks are encouraged to get their kids outdoors. They spice up this request by giving a 15% discount on outdoor gear if you bring in a video game to trade in for the discount.

Kudos to Bass Pro for this program. Here's more from a Bass Pro press release from a couple of weeks back:

One incentive to get more kids to turn off computers and go outdoors is the Video Game Trade-In. For each video game kids and adults bring in Wednesday through Monday, May 21st through 26th, they will receive a 15% discount off the regular price of Bass Pro Shops branded items in fishing, water sports, tents, sleeping bags and footwear.

Update: You really need to hear these ads, they are a direct attack against the temporary nature of video games, suggesting that going fishing is indeed a lifelong sport. Great job.

Outdoor Industry Initiatives

REI announces a new initiative to get kids outside.

Nix that Nalgene

Nalgene cuts what I've always called their "Lexan" bottles.

More here on what they are made of and the threats they pose...

More on Snowshoe Evolution

I wrote recently about my feeling that snowshoes are tools to be used when necessary, and how the outdoor industry has moved beyond that.

Now there's snowshoe racing.

The first racing snowshoes — a far cry from the six-foot-long wood and rawhide relics that hang over so many log cabin fireplaces — were developed in Leadville, Colo., in 1988 by Bill Perkins, a triathlete looking for a way to train in the off season. His snowshoes, manufactured under the name Redfeather, featured a V design and an aluminum frame. Twenty years later, most every major manufacturer makes racing snowshoes, which are typically less than two-feet long and cost from $250 to $350. Each maker touts its own advantageous feat of engineering.

Now all we need is some snow...

Monday Press Roundup

Missed this article last month, worth reading as the annual Christmas Bird Count is a great way to introduce kids to birding.

Dr. Butcher said that habitat loss, caused by “the tremendous growth of the megalopolis” around New York, has already caused the demise of the northern bobwhite, and “has had a pretty dramatic effect” on kestrel populations as well as other species here.

Audubon suggests that citizen action may help forestall the trend. The federal farm bill under consideration would call for wetlands and grasslands protection. It also includes the Conservation Reserve Program, which would encourage private landowners to set aside habitat land. Audubon welcomes grass-roots support for such legislative initiatives, and the Christmas bird count, society administrators say, can serve as a rallying point for this kind of organized advocacy. They also suggest remedies on the home front, like nurturing native backyard plants to create new bird habitats, but are concerned that a new generation of nature stewards is being lost to the lure of the indoor screen.

This Oped from Toledo Ohio hits the mark.

Paradise lost can't be found by watching a movie or playing a video game. But it's waiting outside to awe those drawn to its wonder. Seasonal offerings are open all year for anyone with the time and interest and need to reconnect with a world where man-made has no meaning. So consider taking a walk on the wild side before you become a bear to live with, growling about no time for anything but cheap gruel at the drive-through.

Winter activities in Wisconsin.

Now that Janice and Orlando Jansen, both 68, are retired, every day is a snow day.

Nature, even on the most frigid of winter days, is an adventure waiting to happen and to be shared with their local grandchildren, Eleanor, 10, and Alex, 8.

"There's so much to do (outside)," the Kaukauna woman said. "Our kids, when they were little, you'd have to tie them down to keep them in the house when there was a nice snowfall."

Unfortunately, the video gaming industry is booming.

"The video game industry set the pace over all others in 2007, with record-breaking sales, off-the-charts consumer demand, and innovation reaching from galactic exploration to guitar simulation," said ESA CEO and president Michael D. Gallagher. "On average, an astonishing 9 games were sold every second of every day of the year."

And Skiing in Colorado is down.

DENVER — The Colorado ski industry’s lift ticket sales fell 12.5 percent from the beginning of the season in October through Dec. 31 compared to the same period last winter, a state trade association announced Thursday.

Colorado Ski Country USA reported that its 26 member resorts logged about 2.87 million skier and snowboard rider visits during the first reporting period. A visit is defined as the purchase of a full- or half-day lift ticket. Ticket sales were down about 412,000 from a record-setting beginning to the season in 2006-07.

Outdoor Biz

Saw this interview with REI head Sally Jewell posted at Children and Nature Network. Worth reading if you haven't already.

Merry Christmas. Posts may be sporadic for several days as we celebrate the holiday and get up on the slopes.

Outdoor Industry Foundation Action

Quick post today.

The Outdoor Industry Foundation Play It Forward Program has several cool initiatives to engage teens in outdoor activities.

The Teens Outside is really interesting:

Teens Outside™ makes the pivotal connection between mentors and youth over a sustained period of time and directly engages the outdoor business community to Get Youth Active in outdoor recreation.