Hunting and fishing essential to economy

It's no secret the Humane Society of the United States would like to end all hunting. Its CEO, Wayne Pacelle, has said so many times.

"If we could shut down all sport hunting in a moment, we would. ... Our goal is to get sport hunting in the same category as cock fighting and dog fighting," he said. Fishing, I'm sure, wouldn't be far behind.

I've asked, and I'll ask again, from where do all these anti-hunters expect to make up the economic shortfall if hunting and fishing end?

A survey recently released by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service shows hunting and fishing are a major contributor to the nation's economy — roughly $64 billion.

Include wildlife watching and the figure jumps to $120 billion.

And, for those who think wildlife watching isn't tied into hunting and fishing, think again.

Here in Utah, sportsmen pay to raise fish, feed deer and elk, improve habitat for birds, for both those hunted and those not hunted, and are responsible for introducing most of Utah's big game animals people want to see — elk, moose, buffalo, antelope, bighorn sheep and Rocky Mountain goats.

Some of the interesting findings in the report show:

• In 2006, more than 87 million Americans, or 38 percent of the U.S. population age 16 and older, hunted, fished or observed wildlife.

• They spent $120 billion pursuing those activities, which is an amount roughly equal to Americans' total spending at all spectator sports, casinos, motion pictures, golf courses and country clubs, amusement parks and arcades combined.

• 30 million or 13 percent of those 16 and older fished and spent $41 billion on their activities,

• 12.5 million or 5 percent of those 16 or older hunted and spent $23 billion.

• 71 million or 31 percent of those 16 or older observed wildlife and spent $45 billion.

As Jerry Leonard, survey economist, pointed out, "This expenditure of $120 billion highlights the benefits of these activities on national and state economies."

The report does show that the number of people hunting and fishing is dropping. Over a 10-year period — 1996 to 2006 — the number of anglers dropped from 35.2 million to 30 million. Spending on fishing equipment, however, was up.

Between 1996 and 2006, there was a 10 percent drop in the number of hunters, from 14 to 12.5 million. This resulted in an overall drop in hunter-spend revenues by 14 percent.

The survey is conducted every five years.

Again, how do you make up a $120 billion shortfall in the economy?

You don't.

Of course, the argument is if they don't spend it hunting and fishing, they'll spend it elsewhere.

A share of the money spent, the survey notes, goes into the economy of rural areas that have come to rely heavily on sportsmen's spending. They simply won't fit into this diverted spending plan.

And what about wildlife?

Don't look for outside sources to foot the bill for wildlife management. States can't ever pay all the bills. Sportsmen pay the biggest share of wildlife management through license sales, donations and volunteer work.

As the report shows, hunting and fishing do play an important role in the nation's economy — that's a fact.

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E-mail: grass@desnews.com

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