Out-of-state deer hunters pump $30 million into Missouri’s economy annually

The Show-Me State’s white-tailed deer herd contributes more than recreation and lean red meat on the table.

JEFFERSON CITY-With the 2005 firearms deer season winding down, the picture of how much white-tailed deer are worth to Missouri is coming into focus again. Statistics from the Missouri Department of Conservation show that nonresident deer hunters alone brought more than $30 million into the Show-Me State this year.

As of Dec. 1, the Conservation Department had sold 15,548 nonresident firearms any-deer permits, 13,746 nonresident antlerless permits, and 5,061 nonresident archery permits. The more than $2.9 million these hunters spent on permits is a boost to the state’s economy, but it is only a small part of the benefits Missouri reaps from its deer herd.

David Thorne, public involvement coordinator for the Conservation Department, said out-of-state deer hunters each spend an average of 4.6 days hunting in Missouri. While here, they spend approximately $15 million on food and $4 million on lodging.

Add ammunition, equipment, motor fuels, taxidermy and other goods and services, and expenditures by nonresident deer hunters total nearly $28 million annually. This activity supports 550 jobs with earnings totaling more than $13 million.

Using economic calculations, Thorne says that nonresident deer hunter expenditures have a total business impact of $57.9 million in the Show-Me State annually.

"One of the things I find most remarkable about this, " said Thorne, 'is that the relatively small number of nonresident deer hunters spent almost as much on food and lodging in the state as resident hunters. Missourians and businesses in Missouri really benefit from that spending by nonresidents."

Only about one of every 20 deer hunters in Missouri is a nonresident. Nonresident deer hunters are also likely to be hunting with friends or family in Missouri. About nine of 10 of the nonresident deer hunters from Illinois, Iowa, Kansas and Oklahoma report that they have friends and family in Missouri and that they have long-standing hunting traditions with friends and family here.

These deer hunters also are not likely to be looking for hunting spots on conservation lands, since about nine of 10 say they hunt exclusively on private land.

Approximately one third of nonresident deer hunting permit sales are to residents of Illinois, Iowa, Kansas and Oklahoma. More than one-third of those nonresident deer hunters have lived in Missouri in the past.

Conservation Department Resource Scientist Lonnie Hansen oversees the state’s deer management program. He said the total economic value of deer hunting is far greater than the $30 million that nonresident deer hunters pump into Missouri’s economy each year. Economic activity generated by the state’s more than 450,000 resident deer hunters totals more than $800 million annually.

-Jim Low-

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