Sam Fisher
Banned
Spending over $70 billion a year in pursuit of their pastime, America's hunters and anglers would rank 11th on the Fortune 500 if they formed a corporation, according to a new report.
The report, based on a 2001 survey, was released in early October by the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation (CSF) and the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF).
According to the report, more than 38 million Americans enjoy the outdoors--twice the number of labor-union members--and sportsmen support 1.6 million jobs, well more than Wal-Mart, the country's largest employer.
"Because sportsmen enjoy hunting and fishing alone or in small groups, they are often overlooked as a constituency and as a substantial economic *****," said Melinda Gable, CSF executive director. "These impressive statistics actually underestimate the impact of sportsmen since they do not take into account the millions of hunters and anglers under 16 years of age, and people who were not able to get out and hunt or fish in 2001."
The report, The American Sportsman--Take a Closer Look, uses results from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's 2001 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation. It compares the impact hunters and anglers have on the economy with other industries.
According to the report's sponsors, it is important to think of sportsmen's spending in business terms, and to compare them to other sectors of the economy. When this is done, the CSF and NSSF point out that, "it is remarkable how much state and federal tax revenues are generated, how many people are employed, and how many sectors of the economy are impacted as a result of hunting and fishing."
"Hunters and shooters have been widely acknowledged for their role in conserving our wildlife and natural resources but they represent so much more than meets the eye," said Doug Painter, NSSF president. "Hunters spend $2 billion just on food when they take hunting trips--that's more than Americans spend on Domino's Pizza. These statistics would be even larger if some 30 million sport shooters were incorporated into the spending estimates."
According to Painter, the NSSF is working with competitive and recreational shooting organizations to complete the economic picture by including the non-hunting sport shooter.
The report also reveals the economic impact sportsmen have on state and local economies. According to the report, recreational anglers in Florida spend three times more each year than the cash receipts for the state's orange crop. In Minnesota, sportsmen pay $175 million in state sales, fuel and income taxes, equivalent to the salaries for 8 percent of the state's teachers. In Oregon, sportsmen support more jobs than are provided by Intel, Nike, Oregon State University and the University of Oregon combined. In Montana, annual spending by sportsmen is nearly 3 percent of the entire gross state product.
"It is a fairly simple equation--hunters and anglers mean jobs in states and local communities that have made the effort to maintain their hunting and fishing opportunities," Gable said. "The economic impact that sportsmen have on state economies should be a ****-up call to state governments to welcome and encourage hunting and fishing in their state."
NOTE: I can't find the link to this article. :-(
The report, based on a 2001 survey, was released in early October by the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation (CSF) and the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF).
According to the report, more than 38 million Americans enjoy the outdoors--twice the number of labor-union members--and sportsmen support 1.6 million jobs, well more than Wal-Mart, the country's largest employer.
"Because sportsmen enjoy hunting and fishing alone or in small groups, they are often overlooked as a constituency and as a substantial economic *****," said Melinda Gable, CSF executive director. "These impressive statistics actually underestimate the impact of sportsmen since they do not take into account the millions of hunters and anglers under 16 years of age, and people who were not able to get out and hunt or fish in 2001."
The report, The American Sportsman--Take a Closer Look, uses results from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's 2001 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation. It compares the impact hunters and anglers have on the economy with other industries.
According to the report's sponsors, it is important to think of sportsmen's spending in business terms, and to compare them to other sectors of the economy. When this is done, the CSF and NSSF point out that, "it is remarkable how much state and federal tax revenues are generated, how many people are employed, and how many sectors of the economy are impacted as a result of hunting and fishing."
"Hunters and shooters have been widely acknowledged for their role in conserving our wildlife and natural resources but they represent so much more than meets the eye," said Doug Painter, NSSF president. "Hunters spend $2 billion just on food when they take hunting trips--that's more than Americans spend on Domino's Pizza. These statistics would be even larger if some 30 million sport shooters were incorporated into the spending estimates."
According to Painter, the NSSF is working with competitive and recreational shooting organizations to complete the economic picture by including the non-hunting sport shooter.
The report also reveals the economic impact sportsmen have on state and local economies. According to the report, recreational anglers in Florida spend three times more each year than the cash receipts for the state's orange crop. In Minnesota, sportsmen pay $175 million in state sales, fuel and income taxes, equivalent to the salaries for 8 percent of the state's teachers. In Oregon, sportsmen support more jobs than are provided by Intel, Nike, Oregon State University and the University of Oregon combined. In Montana, annual spending by sportsmen is nearly 3 percent of the entire gross state product.
"It is a fairly simple equation--hunters and anglers mean jobs in states and local communities that have made the effort to maintain their hunting and fishing opportunities," Gable said. "The economic impact that sportsmen have on state economies should be a ****-up call to state governments to welcome and encourage hunting and fishing in their state."
NOTE: I can't find the link to this article. :-(
