Republic one of 25 towns nationally chosen for outdoor recreation program initiative

Shelly Stevens said the town of Republic’s superpower – and biggest challenge – is how remote it is.

But after being selected nationally for an outdoor recreation program, she envisions this will help draw attention and resources to the tiny town.

“We’re the only town in Washington state that got selected,” said Stevens, Tri-County Economic Development’s marketing director.

Republic was one of 25 towns chosen to be part of the National Outdoor Recreation Planning Program. Through this selection, Stevens said the agency will send out experts to the area to help facilitate the planning process and strategies with businesses on how to better support and grow outdoor recreation needs.

“There’s limited transportation routes, there’s limited many things, but what they’re not limited in is all of this public land and recreation opportunity. So it would be just a really great match to amplify the outdoor recreation opportunities with businesses on Main Street and what that might look like,” she said.

Stevens said as part of the requirements of the application, the town put together a steering committee of 12 people to help guide how opportunities and outdoor recreation economy growth are shaped.

This includes local business owners, outdoor recreation groups and the Forest Service.

“They’ll be the ones that really help shape how the program is delivered,” Stevens said.

Though she is not part of the committee, Kayla Connelly, who owns Sparky’s Coffee Shop on Republic’s Main Street, hopes the effort will draw more visitors year-round, not only during the summer months.

“Our busy season is pretty much June through, give or take, September. That’s when our high peak tourist season is, and it really kind of dies out after that,” she said.

Connelly said she is excited to see how this program will boost Republic’s economy and bring friendly new faces to the town’s businesses.

“Bringing in new outdoor activities will help bring people into town, which, you know, people come to town, they need somewhere to eat, they need somewhere to stay, they need somewhere to just sit down and relax. So I think that would help a lot of businesses get recognized,” Connelly said.