Stakeholders from New Hampshire’s outdoor, forestry and conservation community met with U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte for a roundtable discussion last week.The event, hosted by Crotched Mountain Rehabilitation Center, focused on the economic benefit of preserving New Hampshire’s natural resources and protecting outdoor recreational lands.Ayotte voiced her strong support of the Land and Water Conservation Fund and the Forest Legacy Program, which have been used to protect and conserve lands from Coos County to the Seacoast.Both federal programs have helped advance public-private efforts to protect thousands of acres in New Hampshire.The meeting was moderated by Republican State Sen. Jeb Bradley and included participants from the Crotched Mountain Foundation, the Appalachian Mountain Club, the Audubon Society of NH, Trust for Public Land, the New Hampshire Forest Society, The Nature Conservancy, Plum Creek Timber Company, Dartmouth College, NEMO Equipment and the Division of Forests and Lands.The senator provided an update on her efforts to preserve New Hampshire’s open spaces and discussed bipartisan legislation she recently introduced, the U.S. OUTDOOR Act, that would lower or eliminate outdated tariffs on recreational outerwear and support the outdoor economy.Following the roundtable, Ayotte and participants hiked on one of the rehabilitation center’s accessible trails located within a conservation easement parcel funded by the Forest Legacy Program.Ayotte also toured the rehabilitation center and met with patients and staff before heading to Pats Peak in Henniker with another roundtable discussion with the New Hampshire Ski Industry.That second roundtable focused on federal labor laws."I appreciated hearing from members of New Hampshire’s conservation community and stakeholders from our outdoor and forestry industries about ways to advance efforts to preserve New Hampshire’s natural beauty for the benefit of future generations, and to create an environment where our outdoor recreation industry can continue grow and thrive,” said Ayotte. “I was also able to see first-hand the incredible care Crotched Mountain Rehabilitation Center provides to support and improve the lives of individuals with disabilities – including expanding access to outdoor recreation opportunities.”Bruce Clendenning, Northern Forests project director at the Appalachian Mountain Club, said the outdoors communities “appreciate the time Senator Ayotte took to talk with us about how the Land and Water Conservation Fund helps New Hampshire and to see first-hand the importance of conserving NH’s most special places...LWCF is important for anyone who cares about or enjoys New Hampshire's forests, trails, and seacoast. Senator Ayotte's commitment to fully funding LWCF proves she understands its critical role in supporting the tens of thousands of jobs in New Hampshire's outdoor recreation and forestry industries.”Nationally, the outdoor industry generates $646 billion in consumer spending annually and directly supports 6 million American jobs, and it generates $4.2 billion in consumer spending in New Hampshire each year.According to data from the Outdoor Industry Foundation, outdoor recreation supports 53,000 jobs across New Hampshire.19003418