I’m an outdoors guy by passion and profession. I’ve built my career on establishing and promoting outdoor spaces where Virginians, friends and neighbors can get outside to play, recreate and connect with nature. After working in local government for 25 years, seven years of which as the director of parks and recreation for the City of Roanoke, I now own and operate a management consulting firm, Oxbow Strategies. Through this consultancy, I founded the VA MTNS Outdoor Collective, a membership-based trade association for Virginia’s outdoor industry. Over the years, I have repeatedly grappled with this fundamental question: why is Virginia falling behind neighboring states when it comes to our outdoor recreation industry?
Without a doubt, our natural resources are extraordinary. We have stunning mountains, millions of acres of national forest, thousands of miles of trails, and welcoming cities and small towns with thriving main streets. I have been privileged to work alongside and witness local businesses, community volunteers, outfitters and trail organizations do extraordinary work to build, maintain and promote Virginia’s outdoor recreation opportunities. So, what’s missing?
What Virginia lacks is not assets or effort, but a statewide structure of support that treats outdoor recreation as the economic engine it is.
Across the country, states are championing outdoor recreation as a core economic sector, not just a lifestyle perk. Places like Colorado, Maine, New Hampshire and North Carolina have made significant public investments in the outdoor economy, with staffing, marketing and infrastructure that supports both public and private outdoor organizations. And that’s just a sampling of the 24 states that have capitalized on the opportunity to strategically support and promote outdoor recreation. These investments are about competing for talent in a national market where skilled workers increasingly choose where to live based on quality of life as much as compensation, and small businesses cluster around communities that invest intentionally in outdoor amenities.
A clear example of what happens when the outdoors are treated as an economic asset can be found right here in Roanoke. More than 15 years ago, the Roanoke Regional Partnership made a visionary decision to lean into outdoor recreation as part of its economic development strategy. At the time, that approach was far from guaranteed. But it worked. The Partnership helped reposition our region as a place where quality of life mattered; where access to nature was a feature rather than a footnote; and where people could imagine building a life and not just finding a job.
That early success didn’t happen by accident. It was the result of leadership and a willingness to think differently about what drives regional prosperity. John Hull, Pete Eshelman and their team, along with local government leaders at the time, deserve real credit for their early vision. However, there is only so far a regional organization can carry momentum when the state itself has not built the framework to sustain it. The Roanoke region helped move Virginia ahead of the curve. The problem now is that other states decided to build metaphorical highways while we repaved the same country roads.
Virginia has too often treated outdoor recreation as something nice to have rather than a core business sector, one that contributes $13.4 billion to our economy and plays an outsized role in attracting and retaining the workforce that modern employers depend on. The Governor’s Office never fully operationalized the Office of Outdoor Recreation it created in 2019, leaving it without staff or budget at a moment when peer states were scaling theirs. The state continues to underinvest in its public lands, leading to missed opportunities to address gaps in outdoor access and a $300 million deferred maintenance backlog in the state parks system alone. Tack on a couple hundred million more dollars for the needs of our local parks systems.
The irony is that we Virginians have always deeply valued our outdoor spaces. We hike the Appalachian Trail, float the James, ride the Blue Ridge Parkway, paddle the Chesapeake Bay, and cheer when new trailheads and greenways open. The passion is here. The assets are here. The people are here. What we lack is the statewide commitment to match that energy with leadership and investment.
None of this requires Virginia to invent something new. The models already exist. What’s missing is the decision to compete.
As my friend Pete often says, outdoor recreation is about more than dirt and water. It’s about keeping young people in the commonwealth and attracting workers and entrepreneurs who can choose to live almost anywhere. It’s about creating space for small businesses to grow and stay rooted locally. It’s also about health, resilience and the long-term stewardship of the places we love.
With a new administration taking office, Virginia has an opportunity to right the ship. Reestablishing the Office of Outdoor Recreation is an obvious first step, but it must not stand alone. The commonwealth should prioritize investment in outdoor infrastructure in both rural and urban communities; strengthen access to and stewardship of existing public lands; and develop a clear statewide outdoor-economy strategy that connects conservation, economic development, tourism, workforce attraction and recreation planning. Just as importantly, state leaders should listen to the people who are already doing the work, from small businesses and nonprofits to local governments and regional organizations.
The Roanoke region is not unique in its potential; it’s simply one of the clearest examples of what happens when leadership aligns in support of the outdoors. Imagine what could happen if the commonwealth did the same.
Michael D. Clark is owner and principal consultant, Oxbow Strategies; founder and executive director, VA MTNS Outdoor Collective; 2026 president, Virginia Recreation and Park Society.