Conservation

The Economics of Protecting Public Lands

December 5, 2011 By Tom Sadler

The economic importance of outdoor recreation is a common theme of mine. I believe in it personally and benefit from it professionally. I am a strong proponent of the equation: Habitat equals opportunity which translates into economic activity. For many years the challenge had been to validate the equation.

There are an increasing number of reports showing that equation has increasing merit. Last week Headwaters Economics presented another example.

More than 100 economists and academics sent a letter to President Obama, Senate Majority Leader Reid and House Speaker Boehner, highlighting scientific research showing the positive economic impact protected lands such as Wilderness, National Parks, or National Monuments have for local communities.

The rivers, lakes, canyons, and mountains found on public lands serve as a unique and compelling backdrop that has helped to transform the western economy from a dependence on resource extractive industries to growth from in-migration, tourism, and modern economy sectors such as finance, engineering, software development, insurance, and health care.

Underpinning this letter is peer-reviewed literature.

How western communities and counties can benefit from nearby federal lands has been an issue for local leaders, officials, businesses, and others for generations. This document summarizes a variety of scientific research on the economic impact of protected lands such as Wilderness, National Parks, or National Monuments to nearby communities, especially in the West.

There is a large body of peer-reviewed literature that examines the relationship between land conservation, and local and regional economic well-being. Because of the number of different county types in the West, let alone the entire United States, sweeping declarations about the economic performance of all counties in a region should be scrutinized carefully. It is not surprising that the impact of protected lands such as Wilderness or National Parks is measurable in some places (e.g., isolated rural areas and those rural areas more connected to larger markets and population centers via air travel) but not in others (e.g., metro areas; imagine trying to document the effect of the Sierra Estrella Wilderness to Phoenix’s economy).

What the Research Shows:

Protected public lands can and do play an important role in stimulating economic growth — especially when combined with access to markets and an educated workforce — and are associated with some of the fastest growing communities in the West (Rasker 2006).

Wilderness designation enhances nearby private property value (Phillips 2004).

Wilderness is associated with rapid population, income, and employment growth relative to non-Wilderness counties. Services jobs are increasingly mobile, and many entrepreneurs locate their businesses in areas with a high quality of life (Lorah and Southwick 2003).

Conserving lands, which creates a new visibility for them through protective designations, also helps safeguard and highlight the amenities that attract people and businesses (McGranahan 1999).

Public lands conservation is associated with more robust population growth (Lewis, Hunt and Plantinga 2002).

Another study found that while Wilderness recreation benefits to local communities are modest, the presence of Wilderness appears to draw residents and new economic activity, and has a substantial positive impact on local economies (Rudzitis and Johnson 2000).

A study of 250 non-metro counties in the Rocky Mountains found no evidence of job losses associated with Wilderness and no evidence that counties more dependent on logging, mining, and oil and gas suffered job losses as a result of Wilderness designation (DuffyDeno 1998).

Outdoor recreation is important to western economies. In New Mexico, the Outdoor Industry Foundation (OIF) reports that active outdoor recreation contributes $3.8 billion annually to the state’s economy, supporting 43,000 jobs. Nationally, OIF estimates an economic impact of $730 billion from active outdoor recreation (bicycling, camping, fishing, hunting, paddling, snow sports, wildlife viewing, and trail-running, hiking, climbing), supporting 6.5 million jobs (Outdoor Industry Foundation 2006).

For many seniors and soon-to-be retirees, protected public lands and recreation provide important aspects of a high quality of life. Non-labor sources of income already represent more than a third of all personal income in the West and will grow as the Baby Boomer generation retires (Frey 2006).

Protected natural amenities—such as pristine scenery and wildlife—help sustain property values and attract new investment (Deller and Tsai 2001).

These examples are not conjecture. This is peer-reviewed research. Just take a look at the Annotated Bibliography: Economic Value of Public Lands and Protected Public Lands that have Appeared in the Peer-Reviewed Academic Literature.

Headwaters Economic has additional information and resources on their website, Economists Urge President Obama to Protect Federal Public Lands.

And Shows Itself in Deeds

November 24, 2011 By Tom Sadler

“Let us remember that, as much has been given us, much will be expected from us, and that true homage comes from the heart as well as from the lips, and shows itself in deeds.”

-Theodore Roosevelt, Thanksgiving, 1903

And never forget on this day and everyday, paraphrasing Winston Churchill, we enjoy Thanksgiving because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm. For them I am eternally thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Playing 20 Questions on Eat More Brook Trout

November 12, 2011 By Tom Sadler

If you spend any time reading this blog then you know Chris Hunt is one of my best friends and favorite people. Our passions and points of view run along nearly identical lines.

Chris gave me the 20 question treatment yesterday on his blog, Eat More Brook Trout. His introduction was overly kind and he certainly got it right when he wrote:

in our hearts, we’re after the same thing–the protection of the places that matter, and not just to us, but to the future of our hunting and fishing heritage. The thought of our kids or our grandkids growing up without knowing what the natural world has to offer is dead-on frightening.

often present when Hunt and Sadler are together...

The questions were both thought provoking and entertaining. Much like every conversation I have with Chris, ‘cept maybe in that “interesting little establishment on Bourbon Street.”

Read my answers to the 20 questions here.

Eleventh Hour of the Eleventh Day of the Eleventh Month

November 11, 2011 By Tom Sadler

One of my college roommates, a retired Army Colonel, posted this on his facebook page this morning. Nothing I could write would come close.

Some veterans bear visible signs of their service: a missing limb, a jagged scar, a certain look in the eye. Others may carry the evidence inside them: a pin holding a bone together, a piece of shrapnel in the leg – or perhaps another sort of inner steel: the soul’s ally forged in the refinery of adversity. Except in parades, however, the men and women who have kept America safe wear no badge or emblem. You can’t tell a vet just by looking.

What is a vet?

He is the cop on the beat who spent six months in Saudi Arabia sweating two gallons a day making sure the armored personnel carriers didn’t run out of fuel. He is the barroom loudmouth, dumber than five wooden planks, whose overgrown frat-boy behavior is outweighed a hundred times in the cosmic scales by four hours of exquisite bravery near the 38th parallel. She, or he, is the nurse who fought against futility and went to sleep sobbing every night for two solid years in Da Nang. He is the POW who went away one person and came back another – or didn’t come back at all. He is the Quantico drill instructor who has never seen combat but has saved countless lives by turning slouchy, no account rednecks and gang members into Marines, and teaching them to watch each other’s backs. He is the parade riding Legionnaire who pins on his ribbons and medals with a prosthetic hand. He is the career quartermaster who watches the ribbons and medals pass him by. He is the three anonymous heroes in the Tomb of the Unknowns, whose presence at the Arlington National Cemetery must forever preserve the memory of all the anonymous heroes whose valor dies unrecognized with them on the battlefield or in the ocean’s sunless deep. He is the old guy bagging groceries at the supermarket, palsied now and agonizingly slow, who helped liberate a Nazi death camp and wishes all day long that his wife was still alive to hold him when the nightmares come.

He is an ordinary and yet an extraordinary human being, a person who offered some of his life’s most vital years in the service of his country, and who sacrificed his ambitions so others would not have to sacrifice theirs.

He is a Soldier and a savior and a sword against the darkness, and he is nothing more than the finest, greatest testimony on behalf of the finest, greatest nation ever known.

So remember, each time you see someone who has served our country, just lean over and say Thank You. That’s all most people need, and in most cases it will mean more than any medals they could have been awarded or were awarded. Two little words that mean a lot, “THANK YOU”.

Remember November 11th is Veterans Day. “It is the Soldier, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press. It is the Soldier, not the poet who has given us freedom of speech. It is the Soldier, not the campus organizer, who has given us the freedom to demonstrate. It is the Soldier, who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protestor to burn the flag.”

– Father Denis Obrien, USMC

down island-sanitized — Yours truly down island somewhere…many years ago…Proud to have served: USNR 03NOV1986 – 28JUN2002

Friends who Write

November 4, 2011 By Tom Sadler

Some days it is great to have friends. Especially friends who write so well you stop what you are doing, refill the coffee mug and enjoy the story.

This morning’s Friday Fishilicious post on Fly Fishilicious caught my eye. It was a guest post written by my good friend Chris Hunt of Eat More Brook Trout fame.

Teaser:

The brookie is, in my humble opinion, the sexiest salmonid on earth, especially when you get to see one naked in October.

See what I mean… Stops you in your tracks writing!

Grab a coffee refill and read the rest here.

DCIM100SPORT — caught looking at brookie porn

Jen, Nice job getting Hunt to tell the tale of the Eat More Brook Trout blog.

Jobs, Public Lands and the Recreation Economy

November 2, 2011 By Tom Sadler

Yesterday I had the pleasure of being on a panel in Washington, DC briefing congressional staff and the press on the importance of the recreational economy.

I spoke about the Habitat = Opportunity = Economic activity equation and how investment in conservation had been validated by the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program for more than 50 years.

Here are my remarks:

Just a bit about me. I am a professional fly-fishing guide and instructor specializing in the Japanese inspired style of fly-fishing known as tenkara.

I am also a PR and government relations consultant and former lobbyist.

Most importantly I am part of the $730 billion recreational economy both professionally as a guide and personally as someone who hunts, fishes, hikes and bikes on our public lands.

I also have the privilege to be a board member of the American Fly Fishing Trade Association and pleased to represent them here today.

AFFTA is the sole trade organization for the fly-fishing industry, working to promote the industry’s sustained growth. AFFTA represents more than 300 small businesses in more than 42 states including: Manufacturers, retailers, guides, outfitters and media.

For the fly-fishing industry conservation is a straight-line equation: Habitat = Opportunity = Economic activity.

What that means is healthy fish and wildlife habitat is what creates the recreational venues for our customers. Those venues are where our customers go to fly-fish. Those fly-fishers create jobs for the industry and a lot of collateral business as well.

That is why we are asking the Administration for more public land designations like Ft. Monroe, more protections like the mining withdrawal at the Grand Canyon and for Congress to support funding for conservation programs at levels that doesn’t choke off the economic activity of the recreational sector.

Let’s talk numbers:

From National Fish and Wildlife Foundation/Southwich report The Economics Associated with Outdoor Recreation, Natural Resources Conservation and Historic Preservation in the United States we know outdoor recreation has a significant impact on our economy. Those contributions come from both direct and ripple effects throughout the economy.

In 2006, the Outdoor Foundation put the total economic activity from outdoor recreation at $730 billion a year. Included in that total is $46 billion in gear retail sales, $243 billion in trip related sales and nearly $88 billion in federal and state taxes. That economic activity created 6.4 million jobs.

The $289 billion in sales of gear and trips combined are greater than annual returns from pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing at $162 billion; legal services at $253 billion; and power generation and supply at $283 billion.

Let’s look at fishing, according to that report;

Number of Participants: 32.9 million

Jobs Supported: 587,000

Gear Related Sales: $6.4 billion

Trip Related Sales: $16.2 billion

Fed and State Taxes generated: $4.1 billion

Total Economic contribution: $61.54 billion

When it comes to fly-fishing, according to the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation there were 5.5 million fly-fishers in the U.S. in 2010.

In 2010, fly-fishers took 91 million trips either close to home or overnight. They went fly-fishing 16 times on average. More than 25% go fly-fishing between once a month and once a week. 15% tried the sport for the first time in 2010.

That is obviously good news. New enthusiasts coming into the sport is good for business and also good for conservation.

From Southwick and Associates we have learned that sales of fly-fishing gear continue to grow. 59% of anglers surveyed said they bought fly fishing tackle in 2010. An increase of 4% over 2009.

Trout fishing remains the most targeted fish with 66% of dedicated fly fisherman target trout.

In the past year, nearly 40% of anglers traveled out of state to fish. Of those who traveled out of state; 35% took at least one trip out of state, 24% took two,10% took three and 31% said they traveled out of state to fish four or more times in the past year.

“Many of these trips require the purchase of gas, meals, hotels, guide or charter boat services and tackle, all of which go to strengthen local economies” said Rob Southwick, president of Southwick Associates,

Fishermen pay an excise tax on the gear they purchase. Those funds go into the Sport-Fish Restoration Account also know as the Dingell-Johnson, Wallop-Breaux accounts.

Since 1941, businesses in the sport-fishing industry have paid a federal excise on the products that they manufacture.

In 1950 sportsmen and businesses worked with Congress to redirect these existing excise taxes to the Sport-Fish Restoration Program.

The idea was simple. By investing in improvements to sport-fish habitat and public access, more people would fish and sales of gear that generated the tax would increase.

This has been a enormously successful partnership between the fishing industry, anglers, state and federal fisheries agencies. The funds go to state fish and game departments. They have used those funds to help restore fish populations and to increased fishing opportunities

Today, there are at least 77% more anglers then there were in 1950. Purchases of tax-related items by anglers have increased almost 200% in constant dollars since 1955.

This is a sterling example of how reliable conservation funding has fueled economic growth. At the same time, the nation as a whole enjoys from the collateral benefits of conserving our public lands; such as clean air and water and place to enjoy healthy exercise and spiritual renewal.

Why is all this important? It’s simple.

Without continuing to invest in programs to conserve, maintain and create these recreational venues we put this economic activity and those jobs at risk.

Here are the “take aways”:

Healthy habitat creates recreational venues, much of it is public land

Those venues provides sustainable, long term economic activity

We must protect what we have like the Grand Canyon

We must add more where we can like at Ft. Monroe

Without strong leadership the Habitat = Opportunity = Economic activity equation is doomed to second rate status

Lost venues means lost economic activity

Lost economic activity threatens funding that supports state fish and wildlife programs.

For too long outdoor recreation has been relegated to second class status and seen as nothing more than a bunch of hobbyists.

The facts show a different picture.

Outdoor recreation deserves recognition for the economic contribution it makes to our country.

A contribution built on investing in conservation programs and funding. Conservation and outdoor recreation deserve well-funded support from Congress.

Thank you.