82 FR 28818 - Request for Comment; Notice of Development of Outdoor Recreation Satellite Account (To Define and Measure the Economic Impact of Outdoor Recreation)

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Bureau of Economic Analysis

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 121 (June 26, 2017)

The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) and Federal Recreation Council (FRC) are soliciting comments from the public on the development of a new set of national statistics that would provide information on the economic activity generated by outdoor recreation in the United States as authorized by the Outdoor Recreation Jobs and Impact Act of 2016, Public Law 114-249.

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 121 (Monday, June 26, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28818-28819]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-13289]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Bureau of Economic Analysis

RIN 0691-XC068


Request for Comment; Notice of Development of Outdoor Recreation 
Satellite Account (To Define and Measure the Economic Impact of Outdoor 
Recreation)

AGENCY: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Advance notice of development of satellite account to define 
and measure the outdoor recreation economy; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) and Federal Recreation 
Council (FRC) are soliciting comments from the public on the 
development of a new set of national statistics that would provide 
information on the economic activity generated by outdoor recreation in 
the United States as authorized by the Outdoor Recreation Jobs and 
Impact Act of 2016, Public Law 114-249.

DATES: Comments must be received no later than 30 days after 
publication of this notice.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments via email to 
[email protected]. Comments sent by any other method or after 
the comment period may not be considered. All comments are a part of 
the public record.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas Howells, Chief, Industry 
Analysis Division (BE-53), Bureau of Economic Analysis, Department of 
Commerce, 4600 Silver Hill Road, Washington, DC 20233; phone: (301) 
278-9586 or via email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In September 2016, the Bureau of Economic 
Analysis (BEA) entered an interagency agreement with agencies of the 
Federal Recreation Council (FRC). The FRC is composed of the National 
Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 
Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The 
interagency agreement seeks to develop an Outdoor Recreation Satellite 
Account (ORSA). The seven agencies that make up the FRC are prominent 
stewards of federal public lands and waters for outdoor recreation, and 
BEA is one of the U.S. government's premier producers of official 
economic statistics.
    The ORSA will provide a first-of-its-kind look at the outdoor 
recreation economy. While BEA's current gross domestic product (GDP) 
statistics already embed economic activity associated with outdoor 
recreation, the new satellite account will allow these activities to be 
separately identified and highlighted in a way not possible with 
current statistics. Ultimately, creation of the ORSA will provide 
detailed data that will deepen the public's understanding of the 
economic impact of outdoor recreation. This will inform decision making 
and improve governance and long-term management of public lands and 
waters. The first major step in this effort is to define the range of 
activities encompassed by the outdoor recreation economy. In evaluating 
potential definitions, BEA and FRC will consider public comment as well 
as input from subject matter experts in the field of outdoor economics. 
The ORSA research team will then develop two or three potential 
definitions ranging in scope from narrow to broad. The range of 
activities in each definition will determine which industries and 
detailed goods and services measured by BEA will be classified as in 
scope, out of scope, or partially in scope for the outdoor recreation 
economy.
    Once these initial definitions have been established, the second 
major step will be to review the list of partially-in-scope goods and 
services, and identify data sources and methodologies by which the in-
scope share of these ``partial'' items can be estimated. Finally, using 
the information collected in the first two steps, prototype national-
level estimates of economic activity will be developed that could 
include measures of output, value added, compensation of employees, and 
employment in the outdoor recreation economy. BEA invites email 
comments from the general public, private industry, state and local 
governments, non-profit organizations, and other interested parties. In 
particular, we are interested in feedback regarding the following:

[[Page 28819]]

    1. What recreation-related activities should be considered as in 
scope for the ORSA;
    2. What types of statistics that potential users of the ORSA would 
like to see presented in the account in addition to output, value 
added, employment, and compensation;
    3. What datasets could supplement BEA's core statistics in 
estimating shares for partially in-scope goods and services; and,
    4. What datasets could be used for possible future regionalization 
of the account.

    Dated: June 20, 2017.
Sarahelen Thompson,
Deputy Director, Bureau of Economic Analysis.
[FR Doc. 2017-13289 Filed 6-23-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-06-P