ORCA fights to secure funds for human-powered industry

BOULDER — Expect a big push this year from the Outdoor Recreation Coalition of America (ORCA) for the Conservation and Reinvestment Act.
Bob Hall, ORCA executive director, said the Boulder-based trade association is eager to secure a steady source of funding for parks, open space and wild lands through passage of H.R. 701, the Conservation and Reinvestment Act.
ORCA members are manufacturers, distributors, suppliers, retailers, climbing gyms, sales representatives, outdoor education programs, guides and the media. Membership dues are paid according to company revenue.
Seeing the Conservation and Reinvestment Act fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund is ORCA’s top priority this year, Hall said.
“It provides financial support for the two things near and dear to ORCA. Open space acquisition and maintaining public lands,´ said Hall.
The issue already has had some success. In November 1999, the House Resources Committee approved legislation providing $2.8 billion off-budget annually for conservation for the next 10 years. According to Myrna Johnson, ORCA director of government affairs, the signatures of 135 CEOs from the outdoor industry were provided to the committee at a “critical juncture” in the process.
The Land and Water Conservation Fund was created in 1964 to provide a permanent source of financing for purchasing federal park lands and for aiding the purchase, construction and renovation of state and local parks. Congress earmarked $100 million per year from oil and gas-leasing revenues from the outer-continental shelf for the fund. The amount was later increased to $900 million a year until 2015. Appropriations have never reached these marks, ORCA officials said.
If passed, the Conservation and Reinvestment Act will take money for the Land and Water Conservation Fund off budget. The money will be allocated into the fund before Congress begins appropriations.
In the upcoming year, ORCA will keep the spotlight on the issue through advertisements in outdoor magazines and their “Save the Outdoors” trade show promotion. Key members of Congress will be targeted for letters and phone calls. ORCA probably will also increase its presence on Capitol Hill with a second lobbyist. Johnson said they hope to see the president’s signature on the bill by next fall.
Association documents state that “new and quality recreation opportunities for the American people” are behind ORCA’s interest in the legislation.
Hall, who came out of retirement recently to head up ORCA, said he returned to the working world to work on issues just like this.
“My dad was a career Bureau of Land Management worker. Dinner table talk had to do with public lands policy and seeking a balance of environmental interest,” he said.
Before his position at ORCA, Hall was the chief executive for numerous companies including Salomon/North America, Allegra, the Vuarnet-France distributor to the United States and Ride Inc., a manufacturer of snowboard equipment, wakeboards and apparel.
Hall said that he left retirement to work for the 1,100-member trade association in order to give something back to the ski and outdoor industry.
ORCA got its start in 1989 at a for-profit outdoor retailer trade show in Nevada. Industry members from R.E.I., Sierra Designs, The North Face and Backpacker’s Pantry, among others, joined to talk about putting together a coalition of businesses and non-profits to represent the human-powered industry.
ORCA’s first projects simply promoted outdoor activities. According to Norma Hansen, ORCA program director, the first thing to come out of ORCA was a resource or book explaining how to hold an event, such as a slide show featuring a climber, at a store location that would attract customers. They’ve evolved into more of a traditional trade association since, Hansen said, serving a $5.5 billion industry. ORCA provides market research, shipping discounts and conferences to members.