§ 53B-18-701. Recreation and Tourism Program.

(1) There is appropriated for fiscal year 1998-99, $150,000 from the General Fund to Utah State University for base budget funding to conduct a program of teaching, research, and extension on outdoor recreation and tourism.

(2) The university shall establish the program in the Institute of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism in the College of Natural Resources.

(3) The extension and research program shall focus on at least three areas:

(a) tourism and outdoor recreation use;

(b) the social and economic tradeoffs of tourism and outdoor recreation for local communities; and

(c) the relationship between outdoor recreation and tourism and public land management practices and policies.

(4) The purpose of the program is to provide:

(a) better data for the Legislature and state agencies in their decision-making processes on issues relating to tourism and outdoor recreation;

(b) a base of information and expertise to assist community officials as they attempt to balance the economic, social, and environmental tradeoffs in tourism development; and

(c) an interdisciplinary approach of research and study on outdoor recreation and tourism, a complex sector of the state's economy.

(5) The program shall include an office at the university for coordinating interdepartmental research and extension efforts with different agencies and institutions of higher education.

Enacted by Chapter 398, 1998 General Session