WYOMING — The following is a press release from the Outdoor Recreation Office.
The full text follows:
With Wyoming’s Outdoor Recreation Office in place since November, we are already seeing the benefits of this added charter to the Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources.
There have been outreach and recruitment efforts of outdoor recreation manufacturers, in coordination with the Wyoming Business Council, enhancement of the Wyoming Outdoor Expo with Game and Fish and Visit Casper and facilitation and project management of internationally recognized events like the Governor’s Magpul Shooting Match and Cowboy Tough Adventure Race in partnership with the Office of Tourism. This is just to name a few successes.
Outdoor Recreation is big business in Wyoming with a recent Outdoor Industry Association report showing a $5.6 billion dollar impact across all Outdoor Recreation disciplines, a Wyoming Outfitters and Guides (WYOGA) Big Game economic impact of $224 million and a Division of State Parks impact of nearly $500 million.
Outdoor Recreation has been identified as an important component in Governor Matt Mead’s Economically Needed Diversity Options for Wyoming initiative, a socio-economic study of industry and a 20-year economic diversity strategy for the Cowboy State.
At a national level, information recently provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce indicates Outdoor Recreation is one of the country’s fastest growing industries and a major player in Gross Domestic Product contribution.
According to the report, outdoor recreation contributed $373.7 billion to the country’s GDP in 2016 and grew 3.8 percent compared to the overall economy’s growth of 2.8 percent.
This is especially good news for the Cowboy State since Wyoming is among the national leaders when it comes to Outdoor Recreation.
“In conjunction with the great work of the Outdoor Recreation Task Force, the Outdoor Recreation Office in partnership with other state agencies, and various non-profit and for-profit entities, Wyoming is primed to be a national leader in the Outdoor Recreation Industry,” said Domenic Bravo “We already have a very strong base of existing outdoor rec businesses, amazing outdoor assets and a great strategic path forward, coupled this important economic data the sky’s the limit.
Nationally, according to the report, motorized vehicles accounted for $59.4 billion in gross output with recreational vehicles accounting for $30 billion.
Boating and fishing activities were second at $38.2 billion followed by hunting, shooting and trapping at $15.4 billion. Of that, hunting accounted for 60 percent of the output. The equestrian industry accounted for roughly $12 billion.
And, backpacking, climbing and other outdoor activities accounted for $10 billion.
Looking at information provided by the U.S. Geological Survey, the OIA and America’s Health Ratings, Wyoming ranks among the top in the country in campgrounds per 10,000 people (approx.. 4.2); consumer spending on outdoor recreation (approx.. $9,500 per person); number of outdoor jobs per 10,000 people (approx. 850); number of trails per 10,000 people (31.2); air pollution (5.0 micrograms per meter); number of bike shops per 10,000 people (4.0); and outdoor participation rate (approx. 73).
