A conversation about leadership, resilience, and the people behind America’s favorite wild places.

Rachel Franchina, Executive Director of the Society of Outdoor Recreation Professionals, joins Bill and Anders for a conversation about leadership, resilience, and the people behind America’s favorite wild places. With more than twenty years in the U.S. Forest Service before stepping into her current role, Rachel brings an inside view of the challenges facing public land managers and the growing community of recreation professionals who make outdoor access possible.

Together they look at what it means to build a healthy and sustainable recreation workforce in a time of shrinking budgets, early retirements, and record visitation. Rachel shares how SORP connects professionals across federal, state, and nonprofit sectors, why supporting the people who care for our public lands is as important as funding the projects themselves, and how partnerships can fill gaps without replacing essential public service roles.

The conversation also explores how climate change is reshaping recreation design, how career pathways can evolve to attract and retain new generations, and how joy, community, and shared purpose keep people in the work even when resources are scarce. It’s a grounded, hopeful look at the future of the profession that keeps us all outdoors.

Today, we explore:

• Who Outdoor Recreation Professionals Are – Rachel explains how SORP represents the people who plan, manage, and provide outdoor access across agencies and nonprofits, from local park staff to federal land managers and researchers.
• The Workforce Behind the Experience – reflections on how shutdowns, retirements, and chronic understaffing have stretched recreation managers thin, and why supporting the person matters as much as supporting the profession.
• Partnerships with Purpose – discussion on how collaboration can strengthen public lands management when done for the right reasons, and how to keep partnerships from replacing core federal capacity.
• Recreation, Economy, and Stewardship – why economic arguments can open policy doors but should never define the value of public lands, and how recognizing people as part of nature changes the way we plan and care for these places.
• Climate Change and Resilient Design – how floods, fires, and unpredictable seasons are forcing recreation planners to rethink trails, campgrounds, and infrastructure for a more resilient future.
• Career Pathways and Leadership – Rachel’s own story from Forest Service planner to executive director, and her vision for creating clear, supported routes into recreation careers across government, academia, and nonprofits.
• Retention and Respect for the Work – conversation on the long-standing challenges of low pay and high expectations, and how valuing the professionals who connect us to the outdoors is key to sustaining both people and places.

🎧 Listen now wherever you get your podcasts, or at thewildidea.com.

Links & Resources:

Society of Outdoor Recreation Professionals (SORP)

• Website
• Instagram
• National Outdoor Recreation Conference –  May 11-14, 2026, Duluth, Minnesota
• Outdoor Recreation Roundtable
• Confluence of States
• U.S. Forest Service

Policy & Legislation

• America the Beautiful Act
• Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA)
• Legacy Restoration Fund
• State Offices of Outdoor Recreation

Further Reading

• Bold Moves for Visitor Use Management: Public Health, Public Engagement and Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion from Vol. 40 No. 1 (2022): Special Issue–Sustainability and Outdoor Recreation Management on Public Lands: New Directions
• Visitor Use Management Framework from the Interagency Visitor Use Management Council

Rachel Franchina spent 20 years with the U.S. Forest Service as an outdoor recreation planner, program manager, and administrator of the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail. She also served on the board of the Society of Outdoor Recreation Professionals (SORP) for nine years and now leads the organization as Executive Director. In addition, Rachel owns Ruby Mountain Consulting, where she works with agencies, nonprofits, and collaborative groups to find common ground for enjoying and protecting the outdoors.

Drawing on her background in land management, recreation planning, visitor use management, and facilitation, Rachel supports the professionals who connect people to nature while safeguarding natural and cultural resources. When she’s not working, she enjoys skiing, hiking, camping, and rafting with her husband and two boys.

She holds a B.S. in Recreation Resource Management from the University of Montana and an M.S. in Natural Resource Recreation from Virginia Tech.

The Wild Idea is independently produced by Wild Idea Media. If you believe conversations like this matter, you can help us keep them going by subscribing, leaving a review, sharing the episode, or signing up for our newsletter at thewildidea.com. Together, we can protect what connects us.