Indiana DNR releases five-year plan for outdoor recreation

January 23, 2020

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources has released its five-year plan for outdoor recreation in the state. The plan explains Indiana’s outdoor recreation needs and creates a general framework for addressing them.

The new Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP) looks at the state’s outdoor recreation concerns over the next five years. It also covers the Indiana Trails Plan over this period.

The SCORP document, which is 140 pages long, was based on surveys and studies conducted by the DNR. These studies discovered that Indiana’s tourism and outdoor recreation sectors are contributing to the state’s economy more than ever before.

The research also discovered that having hands-on experiences with nature increases an individual’s desire to become an environment steward and to continue interacting with the environment.

The 2020 SCORP plan includes goals such as emphasizing biking and pedestrian facilities throughout the state, making Indiana trails more accessible, using outdoor recreation facilities to help reduce obesity rates in Indiana, bringing more outdoor recreation facilities to individual neighborhoods throughout the state, and using sustainable materials in the development of outdoor recreation facilities.

The department produces a plan like this once every five years in compliance with the law, and in order to remain eligible for grant money from the Land and Water Conservation Fund. This grant money is then distributed to park boards throughout the state, according to a DNR press release.

The plan is available to read here.

Indiana DNR releases five-year plan for outdoor recreation

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