Systems Change Requires Coordination, Not More Programs

New Mexico does not lack outdoor assets, committed organizations, or promising programs. The next level of impact will come from connecting those pieces around shared regional outcomes so business strength, workforce development, access, and stewardship reinforce one another instead of operating in parallel.

New Mexico’s outdoor recreation economy has reached a scale where coordination is no longer a nice-to-have. It is an economic requirement.

The state has invested meaningfully in trails, youth access, workforce pathways, business development, and conservation. Santa Fe has an unusual concentration of public lands, outdoor businesses, tourism infrastructure, community organizations, and outdoor talent. The ingredients are increasingly present.

The challenge is the handoff between them.

A trail project does not automatically strengthen a local outfitter. A youth outdoor program does not automatically lead to a paid job. Workforce training does not automatically solve transportation, housing, or seasonality. And conservation initiatives do not automatically engage the businesses and visitors who depend on the resource.

That is why systems change is the logical next step in the No Margin, No Mission framework. The broader From Margin to Mission model was designed as a sequence: economic viability creates capacity for professional operations, workforce development, access, stewardship, and ultimately systems change. (All Forward Foundation)

New Mexico Has Built Many of the Right Pieces

Outdoor recreation contributed $3.6 billion to New Mexico’s economy in 2024 and supported 31,454 jobs, according to federal data released by the state in March 2026. The sector represented 2.5% of state GDP, and its contribution has grown at a 5.3% compound annual rate since 2012. (NM Economic Development Department)

Public investment is growing with it. In April 2026 alone, New Mexico awarded nearly $6 million for 39 Trails+ projects covering 355 miles and 21 counties. The state’s Outdoor Equity Fund has now awarded more than $10.5 million and connected more than 128,000 young people across 28 counties and Tribal communities with outdoor experiences. (NM Economic Development Department)

Santa Fe has substantial physical assets as well. The City reports more than 2,500 acres of parks and open space and roughly 170 miles of trails. Santa Fe County identifies more than 600 miles of hiking trails and 400 miles of mountain biking trails. (City of Santa Fe)

None of this suggests a shortage of activity.

It suggests a growing need to connect activity to outcomes.

The Greatest Losses Often Happen at the Handoffs

Systems often underperform not because every component is weak, but because individually good components do not connect.

Consider a youth program that creates an inspiring first outdoor experience. If there is no employer relationship, transportation solution, next-level training opportunity, mentor, or paid placement, the experience may end at exposure.

Consider a new trail system. If local guides, retailers, restaurants, lodging partners, and transportation providers are not prepared to capture the resulting demand, much of its economic potential may bypass local businesses.

Or consider a small outfitter expected to support stewardship, youth access, workforce development, tourism promotion, and community engagement while operating on minimal margin. The expectations may be admirable. The operating capacity is not unlimited.

These are not necessarily program failures.

They are system-design failures.

No Margin, No Mission Is Also a Systems Rule

The No Margin, No Mission framework begins with the economic health of the outdoor professional for a reason. Fragile businesses cannot reliably carry expanding community expectations.

The same principle applies to an entire outdoor ecosystem.

Infrastructure, enterprise support, workforce development, youth access, tourism, transportation, and stewardship are interdependent. Treating each as a separate initiative may produce good individual programs while leaving the larger system inefficient.

The From Margin to Mission model works because each stage creates capacity for the next. When one link remains weak, the system eventually reaches that constraint. (All Forward Foundation)

The goal should therefore not be more programs simply because another need has been identified.

It should be better connections among the programs, institutions, businesses, and people already doing valuable work.

Coordination Does Not Mean Centralization

A coordinated outdoor economy does not require one organization to control everything. In fact, that would probably make the system less resilient.

What coordination does require is shared visibility.

A youth organization should know which employers will interview participants after training. An outfitter should know where to send an employee for an advanced credential. A hotel should know how to connect visitors with reliable local operators. Land managers should have direct communication with outdoor businesses when access conditions change. Economic-development leaders should understand whether local operators are constrained by capital, staffing, permitting, transportation, infrastructure, or demand.

Most importantly, partners should agree on what success looks like beyond their individual programs.

Systems change begins when those handoffs become intentional rather than accidental.

New Mexico Is Already Moving in This Direction

There are encouraging signs.

New Mexico’s Outdoor Recreation Division describes itself as a convener connecting local governments, Tribes, nonprofits, land managers, state and federal agencies, and outdoor businesses. Its NM Uplift Initiative was specifically created to develop regional outdoor-recreation strategies across the state’s six economic-development regions and foster collaboration around shared priorities. (NM Outside)

Northwest New Mexico provides a tangible example. The Northwest New Mexico Council of Governments is developing a regional outdoor recreation and conservation master plan across McKinley and Cibola counties while funding a coordinator responsible for stakeholder engagement and implementation. (NM Outside)

Santa Fe is also building connective tissue. Outdoor recreation is one of the City’s targeted industries, while its economic-development priorities include business development, workforce development, ecosystem building, economic mobility, and strategic asset development. The City and County have also collaborated on outdoor-entrepreneur gatherings intended to connect businesses and support organizations. (Santa Fe County)

These are strong building blocks. The opportunity now is to make coordination continuous rather than event-driven.

Regional Coordination Is Infrastructure

Colorado offers one useful comparison.

Its Outdoor Regional Partnerships Initiative now includes 21 regional partnerships covering roughly 79% of the state. Colorado Parks and Wildlife and Great Outdoors Colorado have committed $50 million over five years, from 2025 through 2030, specifically to support regional collaboration, conservation, recreation planning, organizational capacity, and implementation. (Colorado Parks and Wildlife)

The lesson is not that New Mexico should copy Colorado.

The lesson is that coordination itself is infrastructure worth funding.

Physical infrastructure connects places. Effective regional organizations connect people, capital, businesses, government, workforce systems, and community needs.

Both create economic value.

What a Santa Fe Regional Operating Model Could Become

Santa Fe does not need another hundred-page strategic plan before organizations can begin working differently.

A practical next step would be a standing regional outdoor-economy table bringing together outdoor businesses, City and County economic development, tourism and hospitality, workforce organizations, land managers, Tribal partners, youth-serving organizations, conservation groups, and funders.

Its purpose should be execution—not networking for its own sake.

A shared scorecard could examine whether local businesses are becoming more durable, whether youth exposure converts into paid employment, whether visitors are being connected to local operators, whether access barriers are declining, and whether stewardship capacity is keeping pace with recreation demand.

That changes the question from:

“Was our program successful?”

to:

“Is the outdoor ecosystem getting stronger?”

That is the shift from program management to systems change.

Key Takeaways

• New Mexico has significant outdoor assets and investment; stronger coordination is the next major leverage point.

• Many missed outcomes occur at the handoffs between infrastructure, businesses, workforce, access, tourism, and stewardship.

• No Margin, No Mission applies to ecosystems as well as individual businesses: fragile components eventually constrain the whole system.

• Coordination does not require centralized control; it requires shared outcomes, clear roles, deliberate handoffs, and common measures.

• Regional collaboration should be treated as infrastructure and funded with the same seriousness as physical outdoor assets.

What’s Next

Santa Fe and Northern New Mexico should move from informal collaboration toward a lightweight regional operating model for outdoor recreation.

Start with organizations already doing the work. Define a small set of shared outcomes. Map the handoffs between existing programs. Identify the gaps no organization currently owns. Establish a simple scorecard and create a mechanism for solving problems collectively rather than creating another program every time a gap appears.

The objective is not another layer of bureaucracy.

It is to make the existing ecosystem work better together.