Colorado hunters and anglers spend more than $1.2 billion a year on hunting and fishing, according to a report released Wednesday by the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation.
The group’s report on the economic impact of hunting and fishing says spending by Colorado’s 593,000 hunters and anglers supports 20,000 jobs and generates $126 million in state and local taxes.
The sportsmen “are overlooked as a constituency and as a substantial economic force,” Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation president Jeff Crane said.
Annual spending by Colorado sportsmen is 2 1/2 times the combined revenues of the Colorado Rockies, Denver Broncos and Denver Nuggets, the group said. According to the National Shooting Sports Foundation president Doug Painter, the spending benefits less affluent parts of the state because most hunting and fishing is done in rural areas.
Nationally, 34 million sportsmen spent more than $76 billion in 2006, the group said.
