Public lands in Colorado overseen by the Bureau of Land Management generated $631 million in sales and supported nearly 4,600 jobs from wildlife-related recreation in 2016, according to a new study.
The report “ released Thursday also found that hunting, angling and wildlife watching on the public lands produced $34 million in state and local tax revenue, $49 million in federal tax revenue and $202 million in salaries.
Southwick Associates conducted the research. The report was released by several conservation and sportsmen’s organizations: The Pew Charitable Trusts, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, Wildlife Management Institute, Trout Unlimited, Archery Trade Association, and American Fly Fishing Trade Association.
“This study shows that our public lands provide not just incredible places to hunt and fish, they also boost the economies of local communities while contributing billions of dollars to the U.S. economy,” said Steve Williams, president of the Wildlife Management Institute.
The report says people made 545,107 visits to hunt, 326,049 visits to watch wildlife and 164,120 visits to fish on the 8.4 million acres managed by the BLM in Colorado.
Across the West, wildlife-related recreation generated more than $3 billion for the economy and supported 26,500 jobs on the 246 million acres of BLM-managed public lands, according to the report.
