Growing Impact of Wildlife Recreation

“From 1998 to 2003, the hunting and trapping industry grew 25 percent in the number of firms and employment and 50 percent in terms of payroll,” was one of the main findings of a new study The Impact of Wildlife Recreation on Farmland Values by the Federal Reserve Bank of KC (http://www.kc.frb.org/Publicat/Reswkpap/PDF/RWP05-10.pdf). “In Texas, 68 percent of land market professionals indicated that hunting and fishing was a dominant motive for land buyers.”

The research paper utilizes a number of research sources to document and show the impact of hunting, fishing and also wildlife watching, which is one of the fastest growing spectator sports in the USA. TX was a major focus of their research due to their dominant position as the leading state for wildlife recreation at $1.5 billion/year. The 2nd thru 10th states in this category are: PA, NY, WI, AL, OH, TN, AR, GA and MI. A study by John Baen in TX found that “the hunting value averaged 25 percent of the market value of farmland. In some counties, the hunting value accounted for more than two-thirds of the market value of farmland.”

The KC Fed report confirms what I’ve been seeing and reporting to you from the road for the past two years. The importance of recreational land and activities has the potential to transform towns and regions. What are you doing to capitalize upon this natural resource in your area?