BLM-WO Outcomes-Focused Recreation and Community Assessment Project

In the last several decades, there has been a growing recognition of how much recreation contributes to the quality of life, economy, society, and environment. Advances in recreation management knowledge and practices have been responsible for the evolution from activity-based management to experience-based management and, recently, benefits-based management. Each transition built on the management framework of the previous. Within the BLM, benefits-based management has further transitioned to outcomes-focused management. Outcomes-focused management is defined as an approach to recreation management that focuses on the positive outcomes gained from engaging in recreational experiences. The fundamental concept of outcomes-focused management is that benefits endure beyond the onsite recreation experience attained by individuals. Those experiences and onsite benefits stay with the individual when they leave the recreation area and cumulatively lead to offsite beneficial outcomes to communities, economies, and the environment.