Wildlife Viewing Workshop on a Strategic Plan
for Wildlife Viewing in Washington
Olympia, Washington - September 3, 2003
Comments by Dr. Jeff Koenings, WDFW Director

Good morning, I'm Dr. Jeff Koenings, director of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

I'd like to thank all of you for coming today for this very important workshop. I believe it to be the first of its kind in Washington State, and I hope the first of many more!

The Department of Fish and Wildlife is proud to be co-hosting this daylong event along with our partner, the Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development (better known as CTED).

For me personally, this conference is significant for many reasons.

One major reason is that at long last we appear to be ready to go beyond just kicking the tires, so to speak, when it comes to wildlife viewing.

We are ready to take the plunge and actually buy into the fact that wildlife viewing is vitally important to the state of Washington, both biologically through promoting biodiversity and economically through people viewing that diversity.

We are ready to recognize that the economic benefits derived for our state from wildlife viewing are huge and, in the case of some of our rural communities, part of a larger economic evolution now occurring that will place a greater reliance on tourism.

And we are ready to recognize that the time has come to collectively manage and nurture these wildlife viewing activities not only for our own recreational and economic benefits, but for the benefit of our state's wildlife resources as well.

There are several state leaders in the audience today that I would like to introduce.

In fact, these leaders are responsible for all of us being here today due to their support during the last Legislative session of Senate Bill 5011.

That bill, as many of you here today undoubtedly know, requested that the Department of Fish and Wildlife and CTED host this workshop to work with citizens such as yourself to develop a strategic plan to promote wildlife viewing tourism in a way that provides sustainable economic development in our rural areas and maintains the state's diverse wildlife resources.

I would like to introduce Senator Ken Jacobsen, Senator Bob Oke and Commissioner John Hunter.

When it comes to wildlife viewing in Washington State, the numbers are nothing less than astounding.

According to the most recent federal survey figures available, 2.5 million wildlife viewers spent nearly $1 billion dollars - that's billion with a b - in Washington in 2001 on various goods and services.

That figure placed Washington, the smallest western state, seventh nationally in total wildlife watching spending, just behind much larger states such as California and Florida and New York.

So where was this money spent and on what was it spent on?

The short answer is: everywhere and everything.

The money was spent in cities on both sides of the Cascades, in communities stretching from Seattle to Spokane and from Vantage to Vancouver.

Wildlife viewers opened their pocketbooks and let their discretionary income flow on restaurant meals and motel rooms, gasoline and galoshes, boats and binoculars, rain gear and rafts - you name it.

And while bigger businesses such as the REIs and the Targets and the Holiday Inns and Shell gas stations all benefited from this spending, as did our state and local treasuries, also known as tax revenue, smaller, not-so-well-known businesses in rural areas where the actual wildlife viewing took place also profited handsomely.

Such spending, big and small, doesn't come as a surprise. In one community wildlife viewing coupled with sustainable fishing and hunting means for the first time, a year round grocery store; a small thing for us, a very big thing for them.

Federal figures show that roughly a quarter of all wildlife viewers nationwide have a household income over $75,000 and, on average, spend 17 days annually away from home watching wildlife.

In 2001, these people spent $738 each on trip-related expenses and equipment.

There is no question, in my opinion, that rural communities stand to gain even more in the years ahead from wildlife viewing-related tourism. Simply put, rural areas have the habitat that supports and sustains our wildlife.

And judging from what is already taking place in these communities, I am not alone in my opinion.

Consider, for example, that in 1969 in Washington State there was only one major wildlife viewing festival.

Today, there are at least a dozen festivals, nine of which have been launched since 1990 in communities on both sides of the Cascades from Othello to Ocean Shores, Marblemount to Walla Walla.

These festivals, many started by local entrepreneurs, have boosted local tourism and, in the process, filled motel rooms and restaurants and gift shops and other local establishments with customers hailing not just from Washington, but from many other states - and countries - as well.

One example: birding trips 50 miles off the Washington coast to view birds blown across the ocean from Japan. A huge international collection of birders willing to pay big bucks and confront sea sickness to add to their "life lists."

As we all know, many rural communities now benefiting from wildlife viewer tourism have been hard hit in recent years as traditional, extractive jobs in industries such as logging and mining have been lost.

While wildlife viewer tourism does not generate the same types or number of steady jobs as these industries once did years ago, this critter-based tourism is becoming a very important part of the overall economic fabric of these smaller communities. It has become a part?a past of these smaller communities basic fabric.

For these towns and cities, wildlife viewing - and the activity it brings with it - is viewed by local business owners, civic leaders and residents as an integral part of a broader, economic strategy aimed at reinventing their communities for a new era - an era when wildlife viewing tourism will play an expanded role.

The State of Washington is blessed with a wide diversity of habitats which supports a diverse fauna that people in this and other locations want to see. In turn, this state has a diverse set of people that need to be a part of any plan related to wildlife viewing or otherwise. That dual richness adds to our chances of being successful.

The Departments of Fish and Wildlife and Community, Trade and Economic Development are committed to working closely with business groups, citizens and civic leaders to find ways to assist rural communities in promoting wildlife viewer tourism.

To assist us in that task, we have assembled here today some of the best and brightest minds in Washington - you - to help us chart a course of action.

We are fortunate to have with us today James Mallman, executive director of Watchable Wildlife, Inc., who will fill us in on demographic changes now underway that will shape the future of wildlife viewing. I have to be careful because I resemble one of Mr. Mallman's changing demographics.

Mr. Mallman, I suspect, will give us plenty of food for thought as we work through the day to develop a strategic plan to promote wildlife viewing in a fashion that is consistent with good resource management with sustainable resource management.

The vision you will begin to map out today will hopefully become reality tomorrow, benefiting not just this generation, but generations to come.

I applaud your enthusiasm and willingness to take the time and energy to devote to this important task. Remember as Theodore Roosevelt said, "One of the greatest gifts life has to offer is the ability to work hard at work worth doing."

You have that ability, lets get to work!

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