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March 1997, Volume 30, Number 6
The Return of the Osprey NewAppointments Requesting an Address Change | Birding's Economic Impact American birders spend $5.2 billion per year on their hobby, accordingto the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. And for wild birdseed alone, we spendan amazing $2 billion a year. (This is not chicken feed.) By comparison,all Americans spend a total of $5.8 billion on movie tickets. More numbers: A New York Times article titled "Bird Watching--ARecreational Market You Can't Afford to Overlook" reported on a studyof what Americans do out of doors. A full fourteen percent reported birdwatching--more than golf, RV camping, hunting, downhill skiing, or manyother activities. Another 18% reported wildlife viewing, and 15% said wildlifephotography. Most popular, was "pleasure driving" (an outdooractivity?) with 40 percent, followed by swimming (35%), picnicking (33%),fishing (26%), on-road bicycling (21%), hiking (18%), and tent camping (16%). And finally: U.S. Department of Agriculture spokesmen have been tellingconservation groups that by the year 2000 our national forests will generatemore than $130 billion for America's gross domestic product. That includes$97.8 billion from recreation, $12.9 billion from fish and wildlife, $10.1billion from mineral production, and just $3.5 billion from timber. Thepeople who want to cut down all those trees had better pay attention! (Thanks to the Golden Gate Audubon Society's Newsletter The Gull,October, 1996, the Wildlife Management Institute's Outdoor News Bulletin,September, 1996, the Kite Call of the Ohlone Audubon Society, July,1996, and a 1995 news release from the Fish and Wildlife Service). -JSB |
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