Backyard wildlife watching is big business
Director's Column - Crossing Paths With Wildlife in Washington's Cities and Town
by Jeffrey Koenings, Ph.D., WDFW Director
Fall 2002

Did you know your avocation is big business in Washington and that you share it with almost half of the rest of the state?

Wildlife watching around home is enjoyed by 2,105,000 Washington citizens, according to the recently-released results of the 2001 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) recreation survey. Combined with 1,065,000 who also travel the state to watch wildlife, overall spending to enjoy these pursuits totals more than $1.3 billion.

That makes your purchases of birdseed, feeders, binoculars, field guides, and other goods and services a very healthy part of Washington's economy.

It also makes Washington the fifth highest wildlife-watching state in the country, based on percentage of participation by the entire population. That's 49% of Washington residents, compared to to a national average of 31%.

The USFWS survey has been conducted about every five years since 1955 and serves as an economic value measure for everything from threatened and endangered species to wildlife lost in oil spills.

The survey also tracks fishing and hunting participation and economic values. In Washington, 938,000 fish and 227,000 hunt, making up about 21% of our population. Recreational fishing puts about $1billion into our economy and hunting $408 million.

While fishing and hunting continue to be an important part of Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) management and the state's economy, rates of participation in both have declined over the decades.

Wildlife watching, on the other hand, has steadily increased and remains stable. Backyard wildlife watching, (called "residential" in the survey) is the biggest part of that growth.

If you'd like to learn more about your fellow backyard wildlife watchers from the survey, see The National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation at http://fa.r9.fws.gov/surveys/surveys.html.

And thanks for your big business!

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