The Middle River Group, LLC

fly fishing, conservation and politics.

Conservation

The outdoor economy

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Madison River in Yellowstone National Park

When it comes right down to it, it really is this simple: healthy habitat = recreational opportunity = economic activity.

Need more proof, read this is from the recently released America’s Great Outdoors progress report (click here to download the entire report).

“The great outdoors has fueled centuries of economic activity through recreation and natural resource management, and it continues to employ millions of people today. The Outdoor Industry Association reports that outdoor recreation in the United States—from hunting and fishing to hiking and camping—contributes an estimated $730 billion to the U.S. economy. The “recreation economy” supports nearly 6.5 million jobs. It generates $88 billion in annual state and national tax revenue and $289 billion annually in retail sales and services. From the largest parks to the smallest historic sites and memorials, National Park Service areas alone see over 280 million visitors. They generate $12 billion in visitor spending that supports nearly 250,000 jobs. As part of the leisure and hospitality sector, the fifth-largest employer in America, the recreation industry has proven resilient in tough times. It shed only three percent of its workforce from 2007 to 2010 and maintained non-exportable jobs tied to places where people live and recreate right here in the United States. Maintaining this industry hinges on an accessible and healthy America’s Great Outdoors.”

There is lot’s of good information in the AGO Progress report and it not only details the progress to date, it provides action items to be accomplished going forward. Hopefully many of the action steps will take place and the country can reap the economic and societal benefits of a strong outdoor economy.

Ramble Out Yonder

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The social media realm is always interesting. Last week, Shawn Bichsel aka @sbixel retweeted a link to my “Dealing with PETA” post (click here).  I had been a bit worried that I might be in the great minority with regards to PETA, and was delighted for the air cover. My curiosity about Shawn led me to his terrific blog, Lines in the Dirt.

Give me a home where the buffalo roam

Shawn has a great quote from Edward Abbey on the Outside tab of his site. It is pretty appropos to our times and evokes some of the same things Steve Jobs has been quoted as saying, making it even more meaningful. Here is the quote that adornes Lines in the Dirt:

“One final paragraph of advice: do not burn yourselves out. Be as I am — a reluctant enthusiast… a part-time crusader, a half-hearted fanatic. Save the other half of yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure. It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it. While you can. While it’s still here. So get out there and hunt and fish and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, climb the mountains, bag the peaks, run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for a while and contemplate the precious stillness, the lovely, mysterious, and awesome space. Enjoy yourselves, keep your brain in your head and your head firmly attached to the body, the body active and alive, and I promise you this much; I promise you this one sweet victory over our enemies, over those desk-bound men and women with their hearts in a safe deposit box, and their eyes hypnotized by desk calculators. I promise you this; You will outlive the bastards.”

I have no idea if Jobs knew Abbey but they both saw the world from a great point of view.

 

 

What’s Wrong with Outdoor Recreation Jobs?

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Tom Wharton of the The Salt Lake Tribune recently asked, “When was the last time a Utah politician has done anything to help the state’s tourism and outdoor recreation industry?”

Fishing on the Green River

Readers know that I am a strong subscriber to the habitat = opportunity = economic activity equation (didn’t know that? click here).  The outdoor recreation economy is a bright light in these troubled economic times not just in Utah but across the country, yet as Wharton aptly notes:

“It almost seems as though the money generated by tourism and outdoor recreation doesn’t matter or that our politicians view the jobs these industries create as not worthy of support. This attitude could have a negative impact on our state economy.”

Wharton points to figures from the Utah Tourism Industry Coalition that show tourism is a $6.23 billion industry in Utah which created 110,000 jobs and reduced, yup you read that correctly, reduced taxes for Utah household by $703.

According to the Outdoor Industry Foundation, outdoor activities like fishing, paddling, camping, hunting, climbing, hiking, backcountry skiing, mountain biking, and wildlife viewing contribute a total of $730 billion annually to the economy, supporting 6.5 million jobs (1 of every 20 jobs in the U.S.) and stimulating 8% of all consumer spending.

Outdoor recreation creates sustainable jobs and long term societal benefits for our nation, yet our elected officials seem tone deaf to this economic reality.

Check out Wharton’s column (click here).

 

Hold Them Accountable

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Montanan Tony Bynum see danger in Congress and their attack on our public lands. Bynum expresses his concern about the Wilderness and Roadless Release Act and the points out how the recent demonizing of the Antiquities Act is so much pandering to right wing nit wits and really a diservice to hunters and anglers.

He talks about how the Upper Missouri Breaks National Monument is a prime hunting destination this time of year and because of the Antiquities Act it will still be that way 100 years from now.

Upper Missouri Breaks National Monument (courtesy BLM)

Pretty hard to recruit and retain hunters and anglers when we lose venues to irrational demonization of laws that create and protect these prime hunting, fishing and outdoor recreation places. As Bynum puts it,

“Let’s remember what matters most. What legacy shall we leave our children and theirs? Public land, open hunting for the common man is a tradition out west. I wish to leave that legacy to my children and, when this heritage is threatened by bad leadership decisions, we need to hold our leaders’ feet to the fire. It is far better to manage wisely and preserve our intact systems than it is to dismantle and try to rebuild them later.”

When the political carnival barkers start braying about access it is time to ask them if creating more venues might not be a pretty good way to create more access?

Read Bynum’s opinion piece in the Missoulian (click here).

Roadless wolves invoke “access” shibboleth

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I don’t know Ben Long but I like the way he thinks. Over the years I have heard the “access” dodge employed by politicians to justify tearing hell out of the public lands. They like to don the camo cloak and rant and foam about the lack of access. Long writes:

“America’s national forests belong to everyone, and all Americans deserve and rightfully demand access to this national birthright. Such access is like oxygen for hunters and anglers, but beware: Industry barracudas and their pals in Congress are trying to hoodwink sportsmen into supporting bad legislation by promising more lenient access.”

Dig a little deeper and you find the access issue is a little more complicated then the politicians would have you believe. Especially with legislation like the Wilderness and Roadless Release Act. Legislation that is opposed by TRCP, TU, AFFTA, Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, and RMEF (they originally supported it, but to their credit changed their stance when their members raised hell).

 

Read Long’s piece (click here) on why this legislation is not the “access” panacea the proponents claim.

Conservation Funding and “It’s All About the Water, Stupid…”

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Since striking up an on-line friendship that lead to a two part interview on their blog (click here and here to read them) Chi Wulff has become one of my daily must reads.

Mark has a excelllent post about a a recent conversation (or conservation as it is written in the post, in this case pretty much the same thing) with his mentor Ed.

Ed makes three important points about the state of economic affairs and ends with this:

“Both parties have shit on their hands when it comes to sins agains the environment and sheer economic stupidity. Folks bitching about how evil one party is over the other are falling prey to the useful idiot trap and miss the point entirely. We need to figure out how to do the right thing to protect key environmental treasures regardless of what party happens to be in power.”

Headwaters of Flat Creek

Click here and read Chi Wulff’s Three Things From Ed: It’s All About the Water, Stupid……

The entire post is worth the read. Ed has both common sense and economic standing on his side. Ed makes a very compelling case for the habitat equals opportunity equals economic activity equation and joins the growing chorus of voices saying those in outdoor recreation better pay more attention to what is going on.

Unfortunately our elected officials in the U.S. Senate don’t read Chi Wulff or know Ed. They decided to follow the lead of the U.S. House of Representative and take the budget axe to conservation funding in the Agricultural Appropriations bill last week.

Click here and read the details from Ducks Unlimited’s “Senate committee votes to cut funding for farm conservation programs”.