Public Asked For Input At Outdoor Rec Focus Group Sept. 2nd & 3rd

OIL CITY, PA — The public is invited to participate in community focus groups for the Recreation Economy for Rural Communities (RERC) program being facilitated by the Oil Region Alliance (ORA) Wednesday, September 2 from 6-8:30 p.m. and Thursday, September 3 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., both at the Oil Region Venango Campus (W. 1st St., Oil City).

Pennsylvania’s Oil Region National Heritage Area was selected for a RERC program by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This planning assistance program “helps communities identify strategies to grow their outdoor recreation economy and revitalize their main streets,” according to the EPA website.

“This program will help the ORA continue to grow the region’s outdoor recreation offerings while strengthening their connections to the downtowns of Titusville, Oil City, Franklin, Emlenton and those towns to one another,” said Kim Harris, ORA Outdoor Recreation Program Manager.

Members of the RERC steering committee, which includes staff members from the consulting firm Fourth Economy, will tour the Oil Region to see outdoor recreation assets firsthand during the day Wednesday. They will meet at the Rhoades Center with the general public for a high-level visioning session to discuss the community’s desires and goals for outdoor recreation and connection from 6-8:30 p.m. This “show and tell” session will include conversation and visioning exercises so that participants can learn from each other and set the stage for more detailed work at the Day 2 Sessions.

Thursday morning from 9 a.m. until noon, the steering committee, stakeholders, and the public will further discuss what the community wants to see happen in terms of outdoor recreation and downtown connections in the Oil Region. This session will include case study examples and exercises to identify how the recreation economy fits into and connects with the goals of each community and the areas in between. From 1-5 p.m., the focus of the conversation will be on how to bring those ideas to fruition with an emphasis on implementable next steps for the near future.

Themes for these conversations may include:

• Downtown-To-Outdoors Connections Connect Titusville, Oil City, Franklin, and Emlenton and areas in between to trails, river access, parks, and heritage assets.

• Recreation Economy and Main Street Revitalization Use outdoor recreation, heritage tourism, and Main Street strategies to grow local businesses and jobs.

• Equitable Access, Health, And Stewardship Expand safe, affordable, accessible recreation for residents of all ages, incomes, and abilities.

• Shared Oil Region Brand and Implementation Partnership Build a shared identity, partner structure, and funding pipeline for regional implementation.

“Outdoor activities are increasingly popular across the United States, and many communities are seeking to grow their outdoor recreation and tourism economy, while investing in their main streets and conserving forests and natural lands,” the EPA website says. “Encouraging growth on main streets while promoting outdoor recreation can help foster community revitalization, protect air and water quality, create jobs and support economic diversification, and offer new opportunities for people to connect with the natural world.”

“We want to hear the public’s ideas so that we can incorporate their feedback into our plans moving forward,” said Harris.

Pre-registration is not required, but is appreciated for planning purposes.

Visit https://forms.office.com/r/nm5dAiKvYx to register or see the ORA’s Facebook page for details.

RERC is a joint program of federal and regional partners including the EPA, National Park Service, PA Office of Outdoor Recreation, PA DCNR, USDA Forest Service, and Appalachian Regional Commission.