Registration Open for Wyoming Outdoor Recreation Summit and Search and Rescue Conference at UW

Registration is open for both the 2025 Wyoming Outdoor Recreation Summit and Search and Rescue Conference. Outdoor industry professionals are invited to this event, which will take place at the Marian H. Rochelle Gateway Center on the University of Wyoming campus Thursday-Saturday, May 1-3.

To view the schedule, learn more or register, go to www.uwyo.edu/worth/outdoor-rec-summit.html.

The theme for this year’s Wyoming Outdoor Recreation Summit is “Outdoor Recreation in Wyoming Communities: Building Partnerships, Developing Workforce and Accessing Resources.” The event is hosted by UW’s Jay Kemmerer WORTH Institute and the Wyoming Office of Outdoor Recreation.

“We are very excited about this year’s Wyoming Outdoor Recreation Summit and Search and Rescue Conference,” says Dan McCoy, director of the Jay Kemmerer WORTH Institute. “We received more than 25 high-quality presentation proposals. Attendees this year will gain a significant amount of knowledge from a wide range of presenters.”

The Wyoming Outdoor Recreation Summit will open Thursday, May 1, with a keynote address from Luis Benitez, chief impact officer for the Trust for Public Lands. Benitez previously served as the director of the Colorado Outdoor Recreation Industry Office and is the author of “Higher Ground: How the Outdoor Recreation Industry Can Save the World,” which was published in 2024.

Thursday morning events also will feature a session focused on the Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences (EXPLORE) Act and what it means for Wyoming outdoor recreation.

The afternoon will consist of several breakout sessions focused on different aspects of Wyoming’s outdoor recreation community, including panel discussions about Wyoming’s retail and manufacturing industries; a grant workshop with insights and updates about the Outdoor Recreation Trust Fund and other federal grants; and a discussion about trail development and resulting community benefits. The day’s events will conclude with a poster session featuring UW students and a social hour for attendees.

Friday events will begin with a panel discussion focused on the integration of outdoor recreation issues into Wyoming’s legislative agenda and will feature representatives of the state Legislature. The day’s events also feature a talk about the role of outdoor recreation in local economic development; a discussion about challenges and opportunities in Wyoming’s guiding community; a session focused on the importance of grassroots trail stewardship; and a session focused on how the outdoor recreation industry and community can support public land management agencies through partnerships. Friday’s programming will end with optional field trips based in the Laramie area.

The Search and Rescue Conference will take place Saturday, May 3, and will feature a panel discussion from Wyoming’s Search and Rescue Council about the relationship between outdoor recreation and search and rescue efforts; a session focused on mental health support for search and rescue volunteers; and breakout sessions in the afternoon with technical presentations and gear demonstrations.

For the two-day Wyoming Outdoor Recreation Summit, registration costs $100, which includes breakfast and lunch both days, access to all sessions and opportunities to interact with vendors for a raffle prize May 2. People must be present to enter for the raffle prize.

For the one-day Search and Rescue Conference, the registration fee is $50 and includes breakfast and lunch, and access to all sessions and demonstrations during the day.

This year’s Wyoming Outdoor Recreation Summit is sponsored by Discover Carbon County, SE Group and Kate’s Real Food. The deadline to sponsor this event is Monday, March 31. To learn how to become a sponsor, go to www.uwyo.edu/worth/outdoor-rec-summit.html.

For more information, email Taylor Kruger, an assistant research scientist at the Jay Kemmerer WORTH Institute, at tkruger@uwyo.edu.