Tennessee Outdoor Partnership (TOP)

Outdoor Recreation Home

Mission

Growing our economy and enhancing quality of life through conservation and access to Tennessee’s great outdoors.

Executive Summary

The Tennessee Outdoor Partnership is a public/private partnership that seeks to build on the momentum of outdoor recreation and investments into Tennessee’s great outdoors.

TOP Purpose

A partnership that collaborates toward the most efficient and effective means to conserve natural resources and increase access to outdoor recreation that improves quality of life and supports a vibrant economy across Tennessee.

The TOP is responsible for setting long-range goals and objectives for conservation and outdoor recreation in the State of Tennessee.

TOP Goals

To achieve the vision, the following goals were identified as initial opportunities to deliver significant impact to the state. Future goals and objectives will likely be identified as the partnership continues to grow in its work and success.

  • GOAL #1: Tennessee has the cleanest and most accessible system of outdoor recreation waterways in the country.
  • GOAL #2: Tennessee has the highest quality network of regional trails and greenways in the nation.
  • GOAL #3: The Tennessee brand is internationally recognized as a premier destination of choice for outdoor recreation east of the Rockies.
  • GOAL #4: Tennessee has the strongest outdoor recreation economy east of the Rockies.

Organizational Structure

The broad organizational structure of the Tennessee Outdoor Partnership consists of three units: (1) advisory council, (2) goal advisory groups, and (3) the Office of Outdoor Recreation.

The Tennessee Outdoor Partnership advisory council includes the following members:

  1. The governor's office designee;
  2. The commissioner of environment and conservation or the commissioner’s designee;
  3. The commissioner of agriculture or the commissioner’s designee;
  4. The executive director of the Tennessee wildlife resources agency, or the executive director’s designee;
  5. The commissioner of tourist development or the commissioner’s designee;
  6. The commissioner of economic and community development, or the commissioner’s designee;
  7. The dean of the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture; or the dean’s designee;
  8. The commissioner of health, or the commissioner’s designee;
  9. The commissioner of transportation, or the commissioner’s designee;
  10. One (1) private sector representative, representing interests in wildlife, appointed by the executive director of the wildlife resources agency;
  11. One (1) private sector representative, representing parks and recreation, appointed by the commissioner of environment and conservation;
  12. One (1) private sector representative, representing conservation, appointed by the commissioner of agriculture;
  13. One (1) private sector representative, representing sellers of outdoor recreation goods and services, to be appointed by the commissioner of economic and community development;
  14. One (1) private sector representative, representing the hospitality industry whose business is primarily supported through outdoor recreation travel, to be appointed by the commissioner of tourist development;
  15. One (1) representative from the Tennessee Valley Authority, to be appointed by the commissioner of environment and conservation; and
  16. The director of the office of outdoor recreation.

A secondary level of advisory groups consist of additional stakeholders assembled around the specific goals of the partnership. These groups could include local representation, additional state or federal partners, relevant NGOs, and/or relevant private industry. For instance, the “blueways steering committee” is established to help advise the TOP goal number 1.

The goals of the TOP are primarily achieved through the state’s Office of Outdoor Recreation. This office is comprised of a dedicated implementation team housed in TDEC and supported by key players from each of the agency partners. The key capabilities of this office are outlined below:

  • Strategy (translate TOP vision and goals to actionable strategies);
  • Policy (research and review of impacts to outdoors, position writing, etc.);
  • Planning and design (technical assistance, engineering/tactical, resource protection);
  • Funding opportunities and grant administration;
  • Project management and execution;
  • Coordination of public-private partnership efforts (stakeholder engagement); and
  • Administrative support.