The Republican conservationist, a species plentiful a century ago in the era of Theodore Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot, has fallen in danger of extinction. Worthy of note, then, is a confirmed recent sighting on ocean beaches of Olympic National Park. As the Trump Administration prepared to roll out its "dirty power plan," and give new life to old polluting coal plants, 2016 Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Bryant was leading a three-day walk to protect park beaches.

A new Washington State Tourism Marketing Authority (TMA) was established by the legislature (ESSB 5251) to contract for statewide marketing services that promote tourism on behalf of the citizens of the state, and for managing the authority’s financial resources. The first TMA Board of Directors meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 30, 2018, 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Conference Center at SeaTac International Airport, Beijing Room.  The meeting is open to the public. Business on the inaugural agenda includes: install the Board of Directors, elect officers, form appropriate committees, establish a private local account for authority finances, and discuss plans for contracting for marketing services. Big Tent Vice President, Rob Sendak, is the Outdoor Recreation appointee to the Authority.

Since Utah established the country’s first state office of outdoor recreation five years ago, the idea has spread rapidly. Colorado and Washington opened offices in 2015; in 2016, three more states started offices or initiatives dedicated to promoting outdoor recreation. Last year, the number nearly doubled, bringing the total to 11. This rush of activity indicates that state governments have come around to the idea that outdoor recreation is a significant driver of economic activity that also offers other important environmental and social benefits. Until relatively recently, most states gauged the value of federal public lands within their borders purely in terms of their viability for extractive industries like mining, logging, and oil drilling. But in recent years, thanks to a growing awareness of the consumer spending and state tax revenue associated with outdoor recreation, that attitude has begun to evolve. Now these new offices are looking to advance changes in policies to further support the sector.

In the state of Washington, outdoor recreation and tourism is a $21 billion industry, a figure on a par with information technology and aerospace. But according to Snyder, outdoor recreation does not receive the same government support those industries do. The Confluence Accords aim to change that.