November 3, 2003

Refuges Generate Jobs, Sales Revenue for Communities
by James L. Cummins

A new study on the National Wildlife Refuge System shows it was a major economic engine for local communities, adding millions of dollars in jobs and retail sales. The more than 35.5 million visits to the Nation's 540 refuges fueled more than $809 million in sales of recreation equipment, food, lodging, transportation and other expenditures in 2002. That figure is more than double the $401.1 million generated in 1995, the last time the study was conducted.

"National Wildlife Refuges are wonderful places where people can enjoy quiet and solitude and unfettered natural beauty in an increasingly crowded and busy world," said Interior Secretary Gale Norton. "For local communities, our more than 540 refuges also are economic engines that attract 35.5 million people a year, providing jobs and other benefits."

As refuges generated recreation spending, nearly 19,000 jobs were created and more than $318 million was generated in employment income. The 2002 employment statistics were nearly double the 1995 figures, when 10,200 jobs were attributed to the existence of refuges and about $163 million was generated. The total for sales and tourism related revenue plus employment income - $1.12 billion, in total is nearly four times the $320 million that the National Wildlife Refuge System received in 2002 for operation and maintenance.

"We have invested in National Wildlife Refuges because they are a unique and extraordinary way of conserving America's great outdoor heritage," said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Steve Williams. "The economic benefits from refuges would make venture capitalists envious."

Among the report's other findings of the economic value of recreation on the Refuge System: 1) Refuge visitors would have been willing to pay far more for their visits than it actually cost them. Such a differential, called a "consumer surplus," hit $792 million in 2002. 2) Refuge spending is very important in some communities. The town of Chincoteague, Virginia, for example, is the gateway to the national wildlife refuge of the same name. Because of the area's isolation, the refuge's 1.5 million annual visits are hugely important to the local economy, resulting in about $40 million, including 590 new jobs and $12 million in new compensation. The Fish and Wildlife Service spent $3.8 million to operate Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge in fiscal year 2002.

Besides the refuge system, in 2001, 357,000 hunters and 586,000 anglers spent $670 million in Mississippi in pursuit of their pastime, which supported 12,258 jobs in the state. Mississippi's sportsmen annually spend more than the value of the state's cotton crop ($670 million versus $406 million). Sportsmen in Mississippi annually pay $55.6 million in state sales, fuel and income taxes - this could pay 1,881 teachers' salaries or fund the annual education expenses of 10,488 students. Sportsmen support more jobs in Mississippi (12,258 jobs) than Ingalls Shipbuilding Corporation (10,000 jobs), one of our state's largest employers. And the ripple effect of Mississippi's sportsmen is $1.2 billion on our state's economy.


James L. Cummins is Executive Director of the Mississippi Fish and Wildlife Foundation in Stoneville, Mississippi. Known as "Wildlife Mississippi," the Foundation is a non-profit, conservation organization founded to conserve, restore and enhance fish, wildlife and plant resources throughout Mississippi