REPORT: WILDLIFE-RELATED ACTIVITIES CONTRIBUTE MILLIONS TO COLORADO ECONOMY

Hunting and fishing contributed $1.5 billion to Colorado’s economy in 2002 and supported more than 20,000 jobs around the state.

Hunting and fishing contributed $1.5 billion to Colorado’s economy in 2002 and supported more than 20,000 jobs around the state, according to a county-by-county report that can now be accessed at the Colorado Division of Wildlife (DOW) Web site.

The Economic Impacts of Hunting, Fishing and Wildlife Watching in Colorado, a report commissioned by the DOW, focuses on the year-round, statewide economic impacts of wildlife-related activities.

According to the report, virtually every county in the state reaped some economic benefits from hunting, fishing and wildlife watching in 2002, the most recent year for which information is available.

”Hunters, anglers and wildlife watchers contribute to the state economy every time they purchase licenses, buy equipment, and enjoy accommodations in cities and towns around Colorado,” said DOW Director Bruce McCloskey. “Because of their passion for the outdoors, the economic benefits of hunting, fishing and wildlife watching can be felt in virtually every corner of the state.”

Though urban Front Range communities generated a large portion of transportation and equipment sales in 2002, the overall impact of hunting and fishing comprised a much larger portion of the economy in many rural communities.

In Denver County, for instance, the economic impacts of hunting and fishing amounted to $126 million and supported some 1,540 jobs in 2002. In relative terms, however, wildlife-related activities had a greater economic impact in rural counties such as Jackson, Rio Blanco, San Juan, Grand, Mineral, Hindsdale, Gunnison, Moffat, Archuleta and Chaffee.

Denver-based BBC Research & Consulting, the company that updated the DOW’s economic model and generated the report, relied on data based on trip expenses, sporting equipment purchases, and DOW expenditures that support wildlife-related pastimes. The company also factored in the secondary impact of dollars that were re-spent in the economy.

In 1988, the BBC built the DOW’s first economic model to calculate the economic benefits of hunting and fishing around the state. The DOW used and maintained the model and provided the public with periodic updates as new information became available.

The latest update, which was finalized in October, takes into consideration newly available information, including state and federal hunting, fishing and wildlife watching survey data.

To read the latest DOW report on the economic impacts of hunting, fishing and wildlife watching, visit http://wildlife.state.co.us/about/Economic_Impact/index.asp      # # #

 

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