Last week, the Bush administration and Forest Service officials were assailed when they dramatically reduced the government’s assessment of how much recreation on national forest land contributes to the American economy. Their new conclusion is that these activities generate just a tenth of what earlier administrations estimated.
But that is not the real story behind the numbers. Instead, headlines across America should have read, “Bush administration reaffirms recreation as largest economic driver associated with national forests,” for even these new, unrealistically low numbers confirm what the outdoor industry has argued for more than 10 years: that recreation deserves significantly more attention and resources in an agency that was originally built around extractive uses.
Over the past 50 years, and as both Democratic and Republican administration numbers prove, recreation has clearly emerged as the undisputed greatest use of Forest Service lands and the primary driver of the national forest economy. Previously, the Forest Service projected that by 2000, recreation in U.S. forests would contribute nearly $111 billion to the nation’s annual gross domestic product (GDP).
Bush administration officials have now cut that number back to $11 billion. Under the old estimates, recreation accounted for 85 percent of the Forest Service’s contribution to the GDP; under the new estimate, recreation represents 59 percent. The reality is very likely somewhere in between the dueling estimates.
If you do some quick math on the new projections, facts show how grossly inaccurate the administration’s numbers are:
According to Colorado Ski Country, Colorado ski resorts bring $2.5 billion to the economy. Add all national ski areas and that brings the economic impact of ski resorts – the vast majority of which are located on national forests but are only a portion of recreational economic impact associated with those forests – closer to $10 billion. Already we’ve arrived at a number nearly equal to the new estimates by focusing on just one outdoor activity.
A significant portion of outdoor gear sales are used on national forest land. Annual retail sales for apparel and equipment associated with active outdoor recreation (hiking, climbing, paddling, skiing) total $21 billion. Add products and associated costs specific to hunting, fishing and wildlife viewing (estimated at $108 billion) and numbers grow higher. Add tourism and its associated costs for all outdoor activities and the numbers are more closely aligned with previous estimates.
Whether you like old math or new math, recreation is still the most significant economic driver in national forests, contributing, at minimum, 60 percent of the national forest system’s contribution to the GDP; this is almost four times more than energy extraction and mining, and 2.5 times as much as timber harvests.
Unfortunately, staffing and funding for recreation in the agency don’t match up to this reality. Historically, direct recreation management and trails spending is only about 10 percent of the Forest Service budget – woefully inadequate when compared to the economic value of recreation in the forest economy. This type of budgeting has never made sense to professional outdoor business leaders who took the time to look at it. For example, assume you ran a company and your largest and most profitable product grew despite being horribly underfunded. Wouldn’t you redirect resources so that the star product would grow even faster to the benefit of employees, shareholders and customers? Think of what would happen to local economies surrounded by national forest lands if the federal government actually nurtured the potential of the recreation economy by investing in it?
If the Bush administration truly believes in the validity of its new estimate, then the next steps are clear. We call on the administration and Congress to step forward and fund recreation management at a level representative of its impact on communities everywhere.
No matter how you slice it, these numbers should serve as a wakeup call to the president and Congress to finally act and provide an increased investment in outdoor recreation, the largest and fastest-growing economic driver around national forest lands, bar none.
Frank Hugelmeyer is president of Boulder-based Outdoor Industry Association.
