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Wildlife has many values
MDC
April 2003
Retail sales, tax revenues, jobs and spiritual renewal are among the benefits that Missourians derive from forests, fish and wildlife.
JEFFERSON CITY--What's the value of a butterfly, a wildflower, a bluebird or a wild turkey?
If you own a retail store catering to bird lovers, the answer might be the sale of a bird feeder and seed. If you are a motel operator, it could be the price of a night's lodging for out-of-state hunters. To a hunter watching a strutting turkey gobbler or a wide-eyed child watching a brilliant yellow swallowtail butterfly land on a purple coneflower, it is the value of a lasting memory, which is priceless.
Placing a value on forests, plants, animals and the human experiences that surround them is a challenge. The Missouri Department of Conservation has calculated some of those values to demonstrate that natural values are worth preserving.
The easiest way to quantify wildlife's value is in dollars and cents. Annual statistics on hunting and fishing permit sales, tourism expenditures and similar activities paint a picture of industries critical to Missouri's economic health.
--Forest-products businesses generate income of more than $3 billion.
--Missouri's more than 1 million hunters and anglers generate income. topping $1.5 billion and tax revenues of $104 million.
--Deer hunting alone generates more than $68 million in expenditures, adding nearly $16 million to state sales and income tax revenues.
--Wildlife watchers, many from other states, spend more than $448 million.
Another measure of the value of Missouri's natural assets is the jobs they support:
--34,000 jobs in the forest products industry.
--41,690 jobs related to hunting and fishing.
--7,300 jobs related to deer hunting.
--13,110 jobs related to bird feeding, nature photography and other wildlife watching. This is enough to fill Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City more than 23 times.
More than 2 million Missourians age 16 and older enjoy hunting, fishing and other wildlife-related recreation each year. Missouri residents alone spend more than 11 million days fishing, 6 million days hunting and 10 million days watching wildlife annually.
"People turn to the outdoors when the stress of life catches up with them," said John Hoskins, director of the Missouri Department of Conservation. "People's hunger for authentic contact with nature is evergreen. Decade after decade, Missourians come back to the state's forests, fish and wildlife for the rewards and spiritual renewal they offer. Nature has value you can take to the bank."
- Jim Low -
MDC
April 2003
Retail sales, tax revenues, jobs and spiritual renewal are among the benefits that Missourians derive from forests, fish and wildlife.
JEFFERSON CITY--What's the value of a butterfly, a wildflower, a bluebird or a wild turkey?
If you own a retail store catering to bird lovers, the answer might be the sale of a bird feeder and seed. If you are a motel operator, it could be the price of a night's lodging for out-of-state hunters. To a hunter watching a strutting turkey gobbler or a wide-eyed child watching a brilliant yellow swallowtail butterfly land on a purple coneflower, it is the value of a lasting memory, which is priceless.
Placing a value on forests, plants, animals and the human experiences that surround them is a challenge. The Missouri Department of Conservation has calculated some of those values to demonstrate that natural values are worth preserving.
The easiest way to quantify wildlife's value is in dollars and cents. Annual statistics on hunting and fishing permit sales, tourism expenditures and similar activities paint a picture of industries critical to Missouri's economic health.
--Forest-products businesses generate income of more than $3 billion.
--Missouri's more than 1 million hunters and anglers generate income. topping $1.5 billion and tax revenues of $104 million.
--Deer hunting alone generates more than $68 million in expenditures, adding nearly $16 million to state sales and income tax revenues.
--Wildlife watchers, many from other states, spend more than $448 million.
Another measure of the value of Missouri's natural assets is the jobs they support:
--34,000 jobs in the forest products industry.
--41,690 jobs related to hunting and fishing.
--7,300 jobs related to deer hunting.
--13,110 jobs related to bird feeding, nature photography and other wildlife watching. This is enough to fill Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City more than 23 times.
More than 2 million Missourians age 16 and older enjoy hunting, fishing and other wildlife-related recreation each year. Missouri residents alone spend more than 11 million days fishing, 6 million days hunting and 10 million days watching wildlife annually.
"People turn to the outdoors when the stress of life catches up with them," said John Hoskins, director of the Missouri Department of Conservation. "People's hunger for authentic contact with nature is evergreen. Decade after decade, Missourians come back to the state's forests, fish and wildlife for the rewards and spiritual renewal they offer. Nature has value you can take to the bank."
- Jim Low -
