Gov. Mark Gordon signed a bill Thursday creating the Wyoming Outdoor Recreation and Tourism Trust Fund, which will strengthen Wyoming’s outdoor recreation economy and help fund recreation infrastructure projects. The fund will be used to award grants to outdoor recreation projects across the state.

“We have seen a hunger for visitors to experience Wyoming’s mountains, rivers and trails. This trust fund has the potential to create new opportunities for small businesses, focus visitation towards appropriate locations and enhance the quality of life for all Wyoming residents,” Gordon said during the ceremony.

The trust fund will be initially funded with $6 million this session and will continue to be funded at the same rate each biennium until fully funded to the tune of $50 million or more, depending on inflation, said Rep. Sandy Newsome (R-Cody). Yet, despite the popularity of the bill, funding was a sticking point.

“All last summer and fall we came up with several different ideas,” she said Friday, adding that it was obvious the Joint Travel, Recreation, Wildlife & Cultural Resources Interim Committee’s early ideas of having special lottery scratch tickets or a 5% draw on the state sales tax for a couple years could have killed the bill. They finally decided to draw the money from the [state tourism reserve] budget.

“It seemed like having outdoor recreation funded by the Office of Tourism was a reasonable connection. And when we changed that funding source, and you know, everybody kind of got on board with that,” she said.

Additional work will take place in the interim to develop the structure for the fund and how funding will be awarded for potential projects. The Wyoming Office of Outdoor Recreation currently facilitates seven outdoor recreation collaboratives around the state, each focused on defining grassroots opportunities for the growth and enhancement of outdoor recreation in their region. The collaboratives include community members, recreation stakeholders, businesses, conservation groups, federal and state agencies, and elected officials.

“We have seen a hunger for visitors to experience Wyoming’s mountains, rivers and trails. This trust fund has the potential to create new opportunities for small businesses, focus visitation towards appropriate locations and enhance the quality of life for all Wyoming residents,” Gordon said. 

Newsome pointed out the money will help open opportunities outside of Jackson, including in Park County.

“Maybe we’ll get more of that traffic that is overrunning Jackson,” she speculated.