Rachel VandeVoort is the Director of the Montana Office of Outdoor Recreation, an office that advocates for the outdoor recreation industry and works to leverage its numerous benefits to the state. The office was created in 2016 by Montana Governor Steve Bullock, and he tapped Rachel to be its first director, where she built the office from the ground up. Since then, the office has experienced amazing growth in influence and effectiveness, and it has served as a shining example for other states that have formed similar offices.

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A native Montanan, Rachel has a diverse background that makes her uniquely qualified for her role as Director. She grew up working for her family's river guiding business in and around Whitefish, MT and also spent time as a fishing guide. After graduating from the University of Montana, she worked in a wide variety of industries that are closely connected with land and recreation, including organic farming, skiing, and firearms manufacturing. Thanks to her diverse and deep experience in all facets of the outdoor world, Rachel has had great success finding common ground between sometimes-competing stakeholders to harness the collective power of Montana's recreation industry.

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Rachel was slated to be a keynote speaker at Colorado Parks and Wildlife's Partners in the Outdoors Conference, an annual gathering that brings together stakeholders from all corners of the conservation and outdoor recreation industries. But because of the COVID pandemic, the in-person conference was transformed into a virtual conference—and Rachel's keynote speech was transformed into this episode of Mountain & Prairie. I was thrilled to have the chance to speak with Rachel, because her work aligns so well with the theme of the Partners in the Outdoors Conference, specifically, how do we find common ground and mutually beneficial solutions for balancing conservation and recreation.

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We covered a lot in a little over an hour, including the history of her job and the office, the staggering positive economic impacts of the outdoor industry, and ideas around funding conservation through recreation now and into the future. We also talked a lot about Rachel's eclectic background and how all of her varied experiences make her uniquely qualified for her position. Rachel shares some thoughts on finding common ground among competing stakeholders, the importance of understanding history in the West, and the collaborative nature of the outdoor recreation industry. Be sure the check out the episode notes for a full list of topics discussed.

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Big thanks to Rachel for taking the time to chat and to Colorado Parks and Wildlife for partnering with Mountain & Prairie for this series of podcasts. If you have a chance, visit the Partners in the Outdoors website all of the conference content—there's quite a line up of virtual courses and learning opportunities. But in the meantime, enjoy this educational episode with Rachel VandeVoort.

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• FULL EPISODE NOTES: https://mountainandprairie.com/rachel/
• Montana Office of Outdoor Recreation
• CPW's Partners in the Outdoors Virtual Conference

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TOPICS DISCUSSED:

• 3:45 - Montana Office of Outdoor Recreation explained
• 7:45 - Massive economic impacts of outdoor recreation
• 10:00 - Economic impacts in Montana specifically
• 11:30 - Process of creating the office for Montana
• 12:45 - Outdoor infrastructure in Montana
• 15:15 - The positivity of the recreational economy
• 17:45 - Learning from other states' outdoor rec offices
• 18:45 - How Montana's rec office differs from Colorado's
• 20:45 - Rachel's eclectic background
• 22:45 - Desire to stay in Montana
• 26:00 - First job in organic food
• 29:30 - Starting her job in the firearms industry
• 34:00 - Communication lessons learned from a childhood in recreation
• 37:15 - Techniques for finding common ground between competing stakeholders
• 39:45 - The false premise of "consumptive" vs "non-consumptive" recreation
• 46:45 - Thoughts on Pittman-Robertson, Dingell-Johnson, and the future of conservation funding
• 54:45 - Collaboration between outdoor rec stakeholders
• 59:35 - Favorite books
• 1:01:00 - Favorite films
• 1:02:45 - Rachel's family history in Montana
• 1:03:45 - Parting words of wisdom

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