The United States has about 640 million acres of public land, covering national parks to conservation areas and wild rivers to lake shores.
These lands contain resources like oil and gas reserves, or minerals like lithium and copper that could be mined. But they’re also home to hiking trails, camping sites, fishing spots, and all sorts of outdoor recreational activities—activities that contribute billions of dollars to our economy.
Read Outdoor recreation on U.S. public lands generates $351 million a day in economic activity, by Kristin Toussaint at Fast Company.
Plus:
A new report titled, “Conservation Economy in America” reveals that fish and wildlife conservation generates substaintial economic benefits.
The investments to conserve, restore, and manage fish and wildlife pump billions into the economy – fueling jobs, powering the $1.1 trillion outdoor recreation industry, and rivaling major U.S. sectors.
Read New Report Shows Conservation Is a High-Return Investment for Communities, Jobs, and Growth by Dan Morgan at the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership.
And 1 more:
After a challenging year for the outdoors, beginning with the agencies losing up to 25% of their workforce and most recently weathering the longest government shutdown in history, America’s public lands and waters are feeling the strain. Visitors have noticed it too: closed visitor centers, overflowing trailhead trash cans, delayed trail projects, and thinning ranks of the rangers and specialists who make outdoor recreation possible.
Read Public Lands and Waters Deserve Real Funding from Outdoor Alliance.
Photo: Bob Butters