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Chehalis Rotary
Thanks for inviting me here today.
I'm really pleased to have an opportunity to speak in a part of our state where so many of our Department's constituents live, work and play.
I had my Licensing Division do a quick check before coming here, and learned that last year in Lewis County, nearly 33,000 fishing and hunting licenses were sold by two dozen or so Department license dealers. In fact, Lewis County leads the 7 county area in the number of license vendors.
More fishing and hunting licenses were sold in Chehalis and other Lewis County locales than in Thurston County, even though Thurston County has about three times the population.
I'm sure that for those of you here today, the fact that Lewis County has such a high number of people who enjoy hunting and fishing comes as no big surprise.
What may come as a surprise to some of you, though, is the contribution these folks make to your local economy, as well as our state economy as a whole.
The fact is outdoor recreation is big business in Washington, creating jobs and tax revenues in cities and towns all across our state.
In some rural areas, you can easily make the case that fishing, hunting, wildlife viewing and other types of outdoor recreation have significantly increased in economic importance in recent years as other industries, such as mining and logging, have decreased in importance.
All of us are aware of the toll the current economic recession has taken in our state.
These tough times have underscored the need to maintain and expand public and private investment in industries and activities that we deem important to a healthy, diversified economy.
In talking to legislators, municipal officials and people like yourself, I have been trying to make the point that outdoor recreation is one of those activities essential to a healthy diversified economy and, as such, we need to maintain and expand our investment in it.
Now how can I make such a statement?
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently did a national survey that underscores the economic importance of outdoor recreation to each state, including Washington.
In fact, my staff has used the national survey information as the basis for a publication we call "Adding it Up." We talked to people like yourself from across the state, including some here in Lewis County, to learn first hand how fishing, hunting and wildlife viewing impacted their pocketbooks.
I've brought some copies for you to take with you and read at your convenience. I've also included a summary of what the national survey has determined to be the importance of fishing and wildlife activities to Washington state relative to the other 49 states.
According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service survey, Washington anglers in 2001 generated $854 million in spending statewide, placing the state eighth nationally, just behind New York and Wisconsin. Washington state is the smallest state in the top ten and ranks 1st in the Pacific Northwest for spending by our anglers.
The same year, hunters generated $350 million in spending, while wildlife viewers generated nearly one billion in expenditures for various goods and services.
Washington, according to the federal survey, placed first in the Northwest, and seventh nationally, in terms of total spending by wildlife viewers.
When you "add it all up", fishers, hunters and wildlife viewers generated an astounding $2.18 billion in spending throughout the state in 2001 or about 4.4 billion per biennium!
All of this spending manifests itself in a number of many ways, as outdoor enthusiasts visit restaurants, motels, grocery stores, sporting good outlets and other places.
Some of the money is shelled out for big ticket items, such as motor homes, four-wheel drive vehicles and boats. A survey conducted by the National Marine Manufacturers Association found that Washington residents in 2001 spent $454 million on boats and boating accessories, placing the state ninth nationally in such spending.
There's no doubt that the REI's, WalMart's and other large retail outlets located in or near our larger cities benefit handsomely from this all this spending. But many small businesses, particularly those situated in or near the areas (like here in Chehalis) where the outdoor recreation activities occur, are also big benefactors.
That's especially worth noting here in Washington state, which ranks in the top ten nationally in terms of the total number of small businesses. At last count, the state had approximately 185,000 small businesses, a good share of them located right here in Lewis County.
According to state figures, almost 2,000, or 70 per cent, of the estimated 2,820 separate businesses in Lewis County have four or fewer employees. And another 400 or so businesses, or 14 per cent, have nine or fewer employees.
To me personally, it is gratifying to see Washington rank so high in terms of outdoor recreation spending, particularly given the huge budget and other challenges all natural resource agencies in our state are faced with these days.
Through sound stewardship and, in my mind, prudent financial management, we have been able to protect and enhance our fish and wildlife resources while still providing recreation and, hence, the resultant economic opportunity.
For example, consider the immensity of the job we face with regard to wild salmon recovery.
Not only are we making progress in our salmon recovery efforts, but we also have maintained and in some cases expanded sustainable fisheries. Since the mid-90s, we have created about 50 selective fisheries - fisheries that have allowed anglers to continue to fish for hatchery salmon fish while protecting wild stocks.
The department is also involved in negotiations on the Cowlitz and more recently the Lewis River hydro project re-licensing. The outcomes should produce more sustainable fishing opportunities as well as other recreational benefits.
We are also enjoying considerable success on a number of others fronts. We are continuing to move forward with reforming state, federal and tribal hatcheries to ensure they can perform a dual role - assisting in wild salmon recovery while producing fish for economically valuable sustainable fisheries.
We are continuing to move forward with the important biological and scientific work on a number of recovery plans for species listed by the state as endangered or threatened. Protecting these resources is vital if the state is to maintain its uniquely rich biodiversity status, which forms the backbone of all our wildlife watching, fishing and hunting opportunities.
The Department of Fish and Wildlife is also continuing to work to expand watchable wildlife opportunities. Watchable wildlife is believed to be the fastest growing segment of wildlife-related recreation, and is increasingly important to rural economic strategies. We are presently working with the state Department of Community Trade and Economic Development to complete a strategic plan to create new, sustainable wildlife viewing opportunities in rural areas to bolster tourism. The plan will be delivered to legislators next month.
And we are continuing to work to improve the health of our elk and deer herds and ensure hunting opportunity for years to come.
Many of you are undoubtedly aware of the recent transfer of elk from the Mt. St Helens area here in southwest Washington to the Nooksack area in the North Cascades.
The effort is designed to eventually rebuild the North Cascades herd to the point where hunting opportunity is possible. 41 cows and calves (no bulls) were moved this October as part of the Nooksack herd restoration effort. The department recognizes that limited hunting opportunities for bulls exists in the Loo-wit area (GMA 572) and will make that recommendation to the Fish & Wildlife commission in April for the 2004 season.
After so many months of bad news, it was somewhat gratifying to hear recently that the November revenue forecast for the state showed that projected General Fund revenues were expected to be up slightly from the last quarterly forecast in September.
But state financial officials cautioned we are not out of the woods yet, and the modest rise in projected revenues were probably due to one-time events. The mantra out of Olympia remains the same: make state government leaner by focusing on high-priority services.
Well, I believe protecting and enhancing our fish, wildlife and other natural resources to ensure they continue to provide recreational and economic opportunities is a high-priority for our state.
According to our own calculations, the total economic impact to Washington for every $1 spent by the Department of Fish and Wildlife's provides $16 in direct economic benefits to the state. And for every $1 spent from the state's general fund by the Department, $56 in direct economic benefits is generated.
If you look at it strictly in terms of state sales tax revenues, for every $1 of the General Fund spent by the Department , $3 is returned to the general fund to pay for sidewalks, schools and other state spending. And that doesn't include the nearly $20 million in motor fuel taxes paid by fishers and wildlife enthusiasts.
Simply put, sound resource management translates into huge economic benefits for Washington communities such as Chehalis- and the families that live and work in those communities.
I want to express my gratitude to you for your community's longstanding support for the Department of Fish and Wildlife, and I look forward to working with all of you in the months and years ahead to ensure that support continues. Thank you.
remarks by Dr. Jeff Koenings, WDFW Director
November 26, 2003
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