The newly formed Rhode Island Outdoor Recreational Council got some of the facts on a recent Thursday. Now, the question is how much more information they will consider and what they’re going to do with it all.

Andy Moffit has some time to figure that out. And while the Department of Environmental Management provided a detailed breakdown of the state’s parks and open spaces and coincidentally how it is stretching resources to manage them, Moffit is already getting a picture of how much more there is than simply state-owned parks and lands. The council also received a picture of the connection between good health and exercise and the outdoors, which could lead as far as recommendations over school policies.

Moffit is the state’s First Gentleman and chairs the council that is charged with making a preliminary report by July and its strategic plan in November.

Vice chairs of the 22-member council are Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott, director of the Department of Health, and Janet Coit, director of the Department of Environmental Management. On Thursday, both DEM and HEALTH provided ample material for the council to digest.

Here’s just a sampling: Larry Mouradjian said the state has 8,500 acres in 68 park areas under its jurisdiction, with six million visitors annually. There’s another 88,000 acres of conserved lands in the state, 200 boat ramps and fishing areas, and 400 miles of hiking and biking trails.

“It’s right outside your doorstep,” Mouradjian said of access to parks and open spaces.

While the number of state parks has grown, with the addition of Rocky Point being one of the latest, the full-time complement of DEM park employees has declined by 67 percent in recent years to a staff of 41. There are another 436 seasonable positions. The DEM parks’ budget is $9.5 million, with revenues coming from the state and beach and camping fees.

Mouradjian noted that Rhode Island ranks first in the country in the number of visitors it has per park acre, but 49th on what it spends on parks. And, he noted, the state is among the top 10 adventure destinations according to the National Geographic Society.

Mia Patriarcia with HEALTH provided a barrage of statistics on the health of the state’s population, focusing on obesity and how the adult rate of obesity has climbed from 10 percent in 1990 to 27 percent in 2014. She said the rate for youths between 10 and 17 years old is 12 percent. Rates of obesity among youth are higher for those from low-income families and urban areas, she said.

Council member Dr. Celeste Corcoran deplored the lack of physical activity in schools and not only its effect on obesity but also anxiety, depression and learning ability. She said school athletics target the “best of the best” and that there should be an emphasis on the return of intramural sports, saying that she doesn’t see improvement until the Rhode Island Department of Education is engaged in the discussion.

Coit questioned whether RIPTA might offer a means of providing greater access to state parks.

Mayor Scott Avedisian, a council member and chair of RIPTA, said the agency is asking, “What are the opportunities and where do we want to move people?”

Other suggestions made were improved use of technology so that Rhode Islanders and those visiting the state may easily access information on parks and outdoor activities, and the use of young people seeking to complete community service time to help complete park projects.

“We’ve just begun,” Moffit said when asked the day following the meeting where he sees the council going. He expects the first few meetings will be used to identify “all the things we’re doing.” Even in the first meeting, he said he’s finding council members, who represent a cross-section of groups either linked to the outdoors or health, are learning from one another. He expects the level of input to expand as groups such as the Boy and Girl Scouts, YMCA and Boys and Girls Clubs become involved.

Some of the practical outcomes Moffit envisions include a digital map of parks and open spaces and improved marketing of the state’s outdoor and recreational assets.

“We want to be as inclusive as we can,” he said of the council’s work. The next meeting is slated for March 30 at a location to be announced.