A recent study shows that BLM-managed lands produced $3 billion in revenue. The study called “Quantifying the Economic Contributions of Wildlife-Related Recreation on BLM Lands,” took into account twelve western states including Wyoming in 2016. Outdoor activities provide 27-hundred jobs that pay workers $88 million a year and retail sales produce even more: $331 million a year.
Joy Bannon is the Policy Director of the Wyoming Wildlife Federation and an outdoorswoman who said that this study will show the connection between BLM land and boosts in small town economies.
“It really does help us live a more satisfied fulfilling life. When we work hard all week to be able to just go outside and really get close to our natural world.”
The study was supported by the American Fly-Fishing Trade Association, Wildlife Management Institute, and Trout Unlimited. The independent firm who conducted the survey was Southwick Associates.
Bannon hopes that the study provides foundational information for decision-makers about maximizing the economic benefits of wildlife conservation.
“I’m an outdoors woman and a mom of two small children. And these lands, these BLM lands, offer millions of acres for open space, angling opportunities, camping spots, and hunting adventures that increase our quality of life.”
Wyoming’s BLM-managed lands saw 440,894 fishing visits, 129216 wildlife-watching visits, and 339,362 hunting visits in 2016.
