Rather
than give instruction this month, I want to share some information with you
that I recently came across regarding the Economic Importance of Hunting in the
United States. Hunting is much more than a traditional American pastime. It is
also an immensely powerful part of our collective economic fabric, creating
more than 700,000 jobs nationwide.
In 1996 the United States Fish
and Wildlife service in conjunction with the U.S. Census Bureau conducted a
National survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation. My friend Rob Southwick of Southwick
Associates, a resource-economics consulting firm, together with the
International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (IAFWA) compiled this
information for its members, but many of the details are also vital for
sportsmen in every state.
The first point I want to make
is that the 1996 study showed that annual spending by America’s 14 million
hunters amounts to $22.1 billion. By comparison, and if hypothetically ranked
as a “corporation”, that revenue figure would put hunting in thirty-fifth place
on the fortune 500 list of America’s largest businesses at that time. When that
spending figure was “crunched” by economic analysts the findings were that
hunters created a nationwide economic impact of about $61 billion. They
supported 704,600 million jobs, created household income or $16.1 billion,
added $1.4 billion to state tax revenues and contributed $1.7 billion in
federal income taxes, which equates to almost half the entire federal budget
for commerce.
It’s important to remember that
the 704,600 jobs supported in 1996 by hunters having spent $22.1 billion aren’t
just jobs in sporting-goods stores, but can include everyone from health-clinic
employees to your local telephone repairman. Here is an example of how that
works.
Let’s say that you go into an
independent sporting-goods retailer and buy a new gun. Part of the money you
spend then goes to pay the salary of the manager who may have just bought a new
vehicle down the road at the local dealership. The dealership made a profit,
paid salaries and commissions and bought more inventories. Part of the money goes to the store’s
overhead, paying for things like the electric bill which in turn pays more
salaries and supports more jobs. Part
of the money goes to the company that made the gun and they pay parts and
material suppliers, insurance agencies and myriad other expenses as the amount
of your original purchase ripples through the country’s economy.
On a national scale, the cost of
a single gun isn’t very significant, of course. But when 14 million hunters
spend $22.1 billion in twelve months, the result in jobs, wages, and other
economic effects is both extraordinary and at the very foundation of America’s
economic health.
Economic effects can be
calculated at various levels; regionally, by state or even based on the kind of
game being hunted. Deer hunting, for example, generated $10.3 billion in
nationwide hunter spending during 1996, while supporting nearly 312,000 jobs
nationwide. Migratory bird hunting (ducks, geese, doves, etc.) added almost $3
billion in spending and accounted for nearly 96,000 jobs. Upland bird (quail,
grouse, pheasant) hunting meanwhile added $1.9 billion in spending and about 55,000
jobs.
Similar effects calculated at
the state level can be especially important. In California for example, the
impact of hunters spending added up to $2.1 billion, supporting 26,800 jobs,
creating $618 million in household income (salaries and wages), and creating
$66.5 million in state tax revenues. In Wisconsin, which is a major
deer-hunting state, deer hunting alone accounted for $897.9 million in hunter
dollars spent and supported 16,761 jobs. Those are the kinds of numbers that
should turn the head of any state legislator or politician
While hunting gets a wide
acknowledgement as a traditional activity based on healthy wildlife habitat, it
tends to get little recognition as a major economic force locally, regionally,
and nationally. Obviously hunting is much more important than just the dollars
and jobs it produces for the economy but this analysis shows that Americans
have more reasons than ever before to preserve and enhance fish and wildlife
habitat – an effort that greatly benefits wildlife and the country as a whole.
Personally I would love to know
the economic impact that clay shooting has on our national economy. Hunting is
obviously huge and has been around forever while sporting clays is relatively
new. However, it is growing and if we all introduce one friend to it this
summer, think of the impact!
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