The Economic Benefits of Floating and Fishing

The vitality and importance of the outdoor recreation industry should not be underestimated when evaluating the economic potential of rural areas. Overall, outdoor recreation is estimated to contribute over $730 billion to the U.S. economy, supply 6.5 million jobs, and create $88 billion in state and federal tax revenues nationwide.[1] Fishing alone adds $61 billion to the economy, paddle-based recreation generates an additional $36 billion, and together fishing and paddle sports account for $8.9 billion of tax revenue.[2] In addition, the number of Americans participating in paddle sports is expected to increase at a rate 30 percent greater than population growth by 2050.[3]

This increasing demand for recreation opportunities involving rivers and streams can have a large impact on the economic development of rural areas.[4] Amenity based development benefits a community in two primary ways. First, it promotes the area’s appeal to tourists, increasing revenues and providing a base for tourism related businesses.[5] Second, natural amenities attract retirees and families, which adds to the need for additional services, creates new businesses, and draws employers to the community.[6] Due to the increased popularity of water related activities, rivers are a readily available resource for establishing this amenity based development.[7] Thus, rivers can act as a catalyst which spurs further economic activity due to increased appeal to tourists and to those seeking to live in a rural environment with outdoor recreation opportunities.

While money spent by visitors on renting canoes and lodging is significant, the benefits of tourist revenues from water related recreation is not limited to money spent directly on the activity.[8] Tourism can “diversify an economy, making the economy less cyclical and less dependent on the ups and downs of one or two industries,” it can increase employment, and it can increase tax revenues and improve public services.[9] In addition, the value of providing shopping opportunities for visitors and residents should be considered. Annual retail sales on gear and trips in the U.S. from active outdoor recreation exceeds $289 billion.[10]

While it is clear that tourism has a substantial impact on the economy and rural development, it is necessary to recognize that not all places possess the same attributes, which traditionally attract visitors.[11] In particular, landscapes dominated by farmland, such as those in Iowa, tend to be ranked relatively low in appeal for people other than farmers.[12] However, this does not preclude communities in areas dominated by farmland from benefiting from economic development based around their rivers and streams.[13] Due to changes in the nature of American vacations, places that lack geographic landscapes with traditional appeal, such as mountains or beaches, may be more desirable due to their proximity.[14] Because people are taking shorter vacations than they used to, opting for a few long weekends rather than full weeks off of work, there is less distance traveled in order to reach a recreation destination.[15] Thus, communities dominated by farmland may still be able to appeal to these weekend vacationers by tapping into the potential of their natural assets, such as their rivers and streams. Heritage and Agri-tourism can also be used to further the variety and appeal of such areas.

The economic development potential of rivers is also apparent in communities that have established programs to improve knowledge and accessibility to watercourses, such as water trails initiatives.[16] Water trails have become common-place in communities attempting to take advantage of their river resources.[17] These trails have been established across the country and in a large variety of landscapes.[18] The following excerpt summarizes the benefits of water trails for local communities: "Paddle trails are an effective and healthy approach to economic development and recreational access of otherwise untapped water resources, while conserving and maintaining the natural, scenic, and historic qualities of a community…. A water trail is a network of recreational and educational opportunities…. Interpreting cultural and environmental amenities enhances community character while making the area more attractive to new residents and employers."[19]

[1] Outdoor Industry Foundation, The Active Outdoor Recreation Economy: A $730 Billion Contribution to the U.S. Economy 3 (2006), http://www.outdoorindustry.org/research.php?action=detail&research_id=26%22%3EThe.
[2] Id. at 13, 19
[3] Lindsy Johnson, Case Studies of Water Trail Impacts on Rural Communities (unpublished M.A. thesis, U. of Or., Sept. 2002) http://www.nps.gov/ncrc/programs/rtca/helpfultools/wtimpacts.pdf
[4] See Rural Assistance Center, Rural Economic Development Resources, http://www.raconline.org/info_guides/communities/econ_dev.php (last visited Nov. 26, 2007); see also Johnson, Case Studies.
[5] Chuck Hassebrook, Strategies to Revitalize Rural Communities: Making Communities Desirable Places to Live, Center for Rural Affairs–Newsl., June 2003, http://www.cfra.org/newsletter/2003_06.htm.
[6] David McGranahan & Patrick Sullivan, Farm Programs, Natural Amenities, and Rural Development, Amber Waves, Feb. 2005, http://www.ers.usda.gov/Amberwaves/February05/Features/FarmPrograms.htm.
[7] Hassebrook, Strategies.
[8] Richard Reeder & Dennis Brown, USDA, Recreation, Tourism, and Rural Well-Being 7 (2005), http://www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/ERR7/.
[9] Id. at 1.
[10] Outdoor Industry Foundation at 16.
[11] Hassebrook, Strategies.
[12] McGranahan & Sullivan, Farm Programs.
[13] Hassebrook, Strategies.
[14] Ken Belson, Vacations Get Shorter, but Turn Up More Often, N.Y. Times (Aug. 18, 2007), available at http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/08/18/nyregion/18weekend.html?n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/People/B/Belson,%20Ken; Johnson, Case Studies
[15] Johnson, Case Studies.
[16] Johnson, Case Studies.
[17] Johnson, Case Studies.
[18] See National Park Service, River Projects: Water Trails, http://www.nps.gov/ncrc/portals/rivers/projpg/watertrails.htm (last visited Nov. 26, 2007) (providing examples of water trails in locations as diverse as Washington, Maryland, Connecticut, New York, Maine and Wisconsin).
[19] Johnson, Case Studies.

Sustainable Rural Industries

Often environmental concerns are viewed as adverse to the growth or maintenance of rural economies. The approach taken by the Nature Conservancy, working in conjunction with government, non-profits, and landowners, for improving the Boone River Watershed in Central Iowa is an example of a cooperative method used to improve water quality and biotic diversity, while also attempting to improve the economy and maintain large-scale agricultural production. A brief introduction to this effort can be found on the Nature Conservancy's Website and a more in-depth analysis is described in the Nature Conservancy's Boone River Watershed: Ecological Assessment.

The Nature Conservancy has taken efforts to create a non-confrontational approach to improving biodiversity in many of its projects. This approach is also apparent in the organization's role in protecting the Current River in the Missouri Ozarks. Here, the Conservancy is purchasing land in the watershed, recording a conservation easement on that land, and then resaling the land for the harvest of timber. The easement ensures sustainable forestry practices while resaling the land allows for the continuation of private ownership and a tax base for the rural community.

Fly Fish the Ozarks

For information specifically oriented toward fly fishing in the Ozark Mountains here is a link to Fly Fish the Ozarks. This blog is maintained by my brother, Russell Cox. He may have some tangents also.

His blog is more congenial than he appears in this picture, taken at a spring cave on the Jack's Fork of the Current River. It was a hard day of fishing.