Wildlife-watching pumped $1.4 billion into Colorado’s economy last year, far outpacing hunting and fishing, according to a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service national study released Thursday.
An estimated 2.4 million people each year participate in activities across Colorado such as wildlife photography and backyard bird-watching, a jump of 56 percent since 2001, the agency indicated.
“More and more people are making a point to watch wildlife,” said Tyler Baskfield, spokesman for the state Division of Wildlife.
“They’re buying a spotting scope or buying binoculars or going to the Estes Park elk festival in September or to the sandhill-crane festival in Lamar in December,” Baskfield said.
Meanwhile, the number of anglers in Colorado declined 26 percent since 2001, and hunting dropped 6 percent.
Still, anglers spend $448 million in the state each year, and hunters spend $581 million.
Overall, more than 87 million Americans – 38 percent of the U.S. population 16 and older – hunted, fished or observed wildlife in 2006, according to the study, which has been conducted every five years since 1955.
Fishing has declined nationally by 12 percent since 2001, and hunting was off 4 percent – a figure within the survey’s margin of error. In the mountain region, hunting dropped 15 percent.
Those figures continue a slide that began more than two decades ago, according to Responsive Management, a national public-opinion research firm for natural-resource issues.
“Urbanization probably has a lot to do with it,” Baskfield said. “Forty years ago, it seemed like there were a lot more people in small towns that had access to places to hunt and fish.
“Very frankly, it takes some effort to find places to hunt and fish,” Baskfield said. “You have to do some research. It’s not as easy as buying a license and driving out a county road somewhere.”
Like many Western states, Colorado depends on hunting and fishing licenses, which generated $68.5 million last year, to manage wildlife, Baskfield said, and several organizations have developed programs to encourage young sportsmen.
Despite the decline in numbers, sportsmen are spending more than ever, as indicated by a 31.8 percent increase in second- quarter retail sales at Cabela’s, a Nebraska-based hunting-and- fishing supply chain that is opening seven stores this year.
Hunters spent $23 billion last year, anglers spent $41 billion, and wildlife watchers spent $45 billion, according to the study, which was based on interviews conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Staff writer Steve Lipsher can be reached at 970-513-9495 or slipsher@denverpost.com.
This article has been corrected in this online archive. Originally, due to an editor’s error, it mischaracterized the number of people who engage in wildlife or bird-watching in the state. An estimated 2.4 million people – not just Coloradans – in the state each year watch wildlife.
