Luis Benitez grew up in the Midwest and has worked as a high-end international mountain guide, with six Everest summits to his name; outdoor educator; and, most recently, a policy leader in the outdoor industry. In 2015, Benitez was appointed by Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper to lead the Outdoor Recreation Industry Office. He currently serves as chief impact officer for the nonprofit Trust for Public Land. Benitez holds an executive MBA from the University of Denver, with an emphasis certification on behavioral sciences and public policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. He co-authored “Higher Ground” with Frederick Reimers.
SunLit: Tell us this book’s backstory. What inspired you to write it? Where did the story/theme originate?
Benitez: This book really has evolved beside the outdoor recreation industry in the United States. The ORec Industry is now worth $1.1 trillion in consumer spending and responsible for over 5 million American jobs. This represents more than 2% of our country’s economy.
The book evolved out of a very clear realization that while this industry has been historically seen as “not that impactful” and “just seasonal fun stuff that doesn’t represent much,” the reality is, this economy represents nature as infrastructure in the United States. When you look through the lens of heat sinks in our urban corridors, parks play a critical role in addressing temperature gradients.
The pandemic showed us that our trails are vital corridors for public health and equitable access to the outdoors. We wanted to explore how the industry’s political voice and power is evolving and use personal stories to drive that narrative.
SunLit: Place this excerpt in context. How does it fit into the book as a whole? Why did you select it?
Benitez: I chose the start of Chapter 2 talking about an Everest trip and having core memories of being a very sick asthmatic little boy. Having a childhood driven by this challenge, and making my way to being an Everest guide, the rest of this chapter talks about just how much our great outdoors impacts our definitions of public health.
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Each week, The Colorado Sun and Colorado Humanities & Center For The Book feature an excerpt from a Colorado book and an interview with the author. Explore the SunLit archives at coloradosun.com/sunlit.
Clean air, changing seasonal extremes, unregulated segments of industry, this all impacts both our access to the outdoors and our overall health.
SunLit: Tell us about creating this book. What influences and/or experiences informed the project before you sat down to write?
Benitez: My co author Fredrick Reimers and I have been friends for over 20 years. We were Colorado Outward Bound School instructors together in our 20s. This entire project has been a conversation we have had for years. The catalyst really came during the pandemic and understanding that the one thing everyone engaged in during the pandemic was outdoor recreation. Now more than ever, this story needs to be told.
SunLit: What did the process of writing this book add to your knowledge and understanding of your craft and/or the subject matter?
Benitez: We are just getting started in the conversation about the emerging political voice of our industry. The examples of economic impact, education and workforce development, impacts on public health, and how the focus deepens our conservation ethic is truly the depth and width we explored in this process.
SunLit: What’s the most important thing – a theme, lesson, emotion or realization — that readers should take from this book?
“Higher Ground: How the Outdoor Recreation Industry Can Save the World”
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Benitez: Your engagement on the promotion and preservation of the outdoors matters. Even with what you buy. My saying has always been, “it makes no difference how great your puffy jacket is, if you have nowhere to walk with it outside and if the climate is such that you don’t even need it anymore.” Connecting this industry to infrastructure is what we all need to be thinking about.
SunLit: Walk us through your writing process: Where and how do you write?
Benitez: This whole process was a conversation between Fredrick and me. Those conversations shaped the rough paragraph outlines, which led to “filling in” stories and research.
SunLit: If the U.S. treated nature as infrastructure, how would that change our approach to the great outdoors and all that entails?
Benitez: We have to consider the funding of the great outdoors. If you look at existing legislation like Pittman-Robertson and the Dingell Act, certain sections of the industry “charge” themselves for funds to reinvest in the ecosystem.
Some states actually have tax structures to reinvest in their outdoor industry ecosystems, the same way state taxes help pay for bridges and roads and infrastructure.
We as an industry need to find a way to formalize and grow that process and that funding, to not rely on government grants and “handouts” to keep our ecosystem and infrastructure strong.
A few more quick questions
SunLit: Which do you enjoy more as you work on a book – writing or editing?
Benitez: Writing!
SunLit: What’s the first piece of writing – at any age – that you remember being proud of?
Benitez: A coloring book of national parks.
SunLit: What three writers, from any era, would you invite over for a great discussion about literature and writing?
Benitez: Teddy Roosevelt, Ernest Hemmingway, Bill Bryson.
SunLit: What does the current collection of books on your home shelves tell visitors about you?
Benitez: Outdoor adventurer and political history/policy wonk.
SunLit: Soundtrack or silence? What’s the audio background that helps you write?
Benitez: Silence.
SunLit: What music do you listen to for sheer enjoyment?
Benitez: Bluegrass
SunLit: What event, and at what age, convinced you that you wanted to be a writer?
Benitez: Am still not convinced.
SunLit: Greatest writing fear?
Benitez: That what I write makes no sense.
SunLit: Greatest writing satisfaction?
Benitez: Regardless of how many people read the book, the satisfaction is that my family has a record of things I have endeavored to do.