Wildlife Trumps Football
More and more people are going into the wild. But unlike the book by Jon Krakauer, or Sean Penn’s movie, where Christopher McCandless torches his money in the desert, these wilderness seekers are spending big bucks. Wildlife watchers generated $1
More and more people are going into the wild. But unlike the , or , where Christopher McCandless torches his money in a desert bonfire, these wilderness seekers are spending big bucks. Wildlife watchers generated $122.6 billion in 2006, according to a recently released , equivalent to the amount of money spent on spectator sports, amusement parks, arcades, bowling alleys and ski slopes combined.
Here are some interesting numbers from the report:
Nearly a third of the U.S. population, or 71 million people, enjoyed closely observing, photographing and feeding wildlife in 2006, 8 percent more people than in 2001, and four times the number of people who attended in 2006.
95 percent of those 71 million wildlife watchers experienced wildlife within a mile from their home; 32 percent took trips more than a mile from home.
$122.6 billion represents the total industry output, which takes into account all businesses supported by wildlife related purchases; $46 billion was spent on wildlife directly.
Off road vehicles, motor homes, tent trailers, pick up trucks and boats accounted for 27 percent of the $46 billion spent directly on wildlife; Packaged and bulk wild bird food accounted for 7 percent.
The five states with the most wildlife watchers in 2006: California, 6.2 million; Florida, 4.2 million; Texas, 4.2 million; Pennsylvania, 3.9 million; New York, 3.9 million.
Wildlife watchers fund more than a million jobs and provide $9.3 billion in federal taxes and $8.9 billion in state and local taxes.
