Recreation Working Group
The recreation working Group is a collaborative, inclusive network represented by all who have a stake in keeping our forests and open lands working and wild
Recreation Summit - August 12, 2021
Convene
On Thursday, August 12th, Diablo Trust hosted the first Annual Recreation Summit at the Elks Lodge in Flagstaff. The Recreation Summit was held to bring awareness and solutions-based discussions regarding recreation impacts in Northern Arizona.
The Recreation Working Group (RWG), a collaborative of numerous organizations and agencies formed earlier this year, has been meeting regularly to discuss recreation impacts, share resources and look towards solutions. The Recreation Summit allowed the RWG to share these conversations to a bigger, broader group in hopes of finding a pathway forward to protect our shared resources.
Consider
Over seventy people attended representing NGOs, agencies, private landowners and concerned citizens. Presenters spoke about recreation impacts, management plans, travel data analysis and social media tools.
The event program kicked off with Kit Metzger of Flying M Ranch and Bob Prosser of Bar T Bar Ranch sharing the impacts of increased recreation on the Diablo Trust ranches. The program then shifted into presentations from the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office, USFS Flagstaff District Office, Flagstaff MetroPlan, and Central Arizona Conservation Alliance. Speakers and links to their presentations are listed below.
Sheriff Jim Driscoll and Chief Deputy Bret Axlund, Coconino County Sheriff’s Office - Off Road Vehicle Traffic and Safety
CCSO Deputy performing life saving measures at OHV accident - Warning, Graphic Content
Matt McGrath, USFS Flagstaff District Ranger - Coconino National Forest Recreation Management
David Wessel, Flagstaff MetroPlan Planning Manager - Who’s there? Forest visitors - a big data analysis
Aireona Bonnie Raschke, Ph.D, Central Arizona Conservation Alliance Program Director - Sonoran Insiders: Leveraging Social Media for the Good of Natural Open Spaces in Arizona
Collaborate
Participants met in breakout groups to begin more in depth discussions on specific topics, bringing ideas from a variety of backgrounds to work toward solutions.
Following the presentations, participants broke into breakout groups that each focused on one of the following topics:
Technology Solutions
Funding Opportunities
Policy and Legislation
Education/Signage
Ambassadorship
Waste Management Solutions
Continue
We are hopeful that the momentum from the Recreation Summit and discussions that took place in the breakout sessions will carry forward and lead to impactful change to protect our shared resources.
