Census Atlas of the United States Has Insights for Conservation in Missouri

The U.S. Census Bureau has recently published the Census Atlas of the United States, which is a collection of maps and information about population and housing.

The individual chapters are large files to download, but contain useful insights for fish, forest, and wildlife management in Missouri.

In Chapter 2, the population distribution chapter, I was interested to see the trend for Missouri of increasing population in the major cities and southern part of the state. This is also confirmed in Chapter 14, about housing, in that the dates of housing construction are most recent in the same areas. The northern part of the state has a trend of declining population.

Increasing areas of construction in the past has generally indicated more impacts on habitat and water quality, which can alter the health of fish, forests, and wildlife.

You can read more about what you can do in your neighborhood and community to support fish, forests, and wildlife on the Web pages of the Missouri Department of Conservation and in the community conservation items in the strategic plan of the Department.

Preliminary Results for Missouri Released for Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife Viewing from the National Survey

Preliminary report available. A preliminary report has been released with the state numbers from the 2006 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation.

New participation numbers for Missouri. For Missouri, on page 9 of the report, it appears that compared with the 2001 survey:

• fishing participants declined slightly to 1,075,000;
• hunting participants increased to 613,000;
• and wildlife watching participants increased for both around the home, 1,976,000, and away from home, at 825,000.

We'll have to wait until November when the individual state reports begin to be released to see if any of these levels are statistically different from the 2001 and 1996 levels.

Expenditures look way up from 2001. This is great news, since the economic impacts in Missouri from fish and wildlife recreation, that is, business impacts, jobs supported, sales tax generated, and income tax revenue generated, will all be increased compared to 2001.

Conservation continues to pay its way in Missouri. This is certainly the result of the continued outdoor interests of Missourians, the efforts of conservation-minded individuals and organizations, and the work of the Missouri Department of Conservation.

The Midwest in general continues to have higher levels of participation in fishing, hunting, and wildlife viewing than the rest of the nation.

Missouri is in the top 10 list of states for numbers of participants for fishing, hunting, and wildlife viewing.

More reports from the National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation are available from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Participation in Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation in Missouri

Every five years. The National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation has been conducted about every five years since 1955. The survey is conducted for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Single best source. The survey is the single best source of information about participation and spending patterns related to fishing, hunting, and wildlife-watching. There is no other nationwide survey conducted in a similar statistically valid way. There is no better source of information. Results in recent surveys have been reported for each state. More information about the survey and how it is conducted is available here.


No statistical change between 1991 and 2001 for Missouri. The report for Missouri from the National Survey, available here, indicates there was not a statistically significant change in fishing, hunting, or wildlife-viewing participation away from home between 1991 and 2001 in Missouri. You can see in the chart here that there was a slight numerical decline in the estimates of participation for all but viewing around the home, which did have a statistically significant decline.

New data available soon from 2006. Preliminary results from the 2006 survey are being released now and the final reports will be available soon. I am very interested in seeing the results, especially to compare with previous years.

Why the survey is better than license sales to understand participation. In Missouri, a variety of fishing and hunting participation does not require a permit. For example, individuals under the age of 16 and those 65 and older do not need a permit for most fishing and hunting opportunities. Landowners of parcels five acres and larger do not need a permit for many fishing and hunting activities on their own property, except for needing transportation tags for deer and turkey and for appropriate waterfowl permits. More information about fishing and hunting licenses in Missouri is available here and a library of information about who needs a permit and who is exempted is available here. License sales are certainly useful to monitor trends, but don't show the entire range of participation.

The National Survey uses a statistically valid random sample of Missourians to estimate the levels of participation and expenditures for fishing, hunting, and wildlife-related recreation. The survey provides the best overall estimate of fishing and hunting available in Missouri. The Missouri Department of Conservation does conduct its own surveys and studies of permit numbers to gain additional information that is not collected in the National Survey.

In general, for the activities of fishing, hunting, and wildlife-watching that do have results reported in the National Survey, the survey numbers provide the best picture of participation.

The Levels of Worry by Missourians for Selected Conservation Issues

Yesterday I provided a link to a report from the Brookings Institute about changes in population and where people live in Missouri and showed a chart using results from a conservation opinion survey about how Missourians worry about several conservation issues. In the chart, I included an overall total for the responses of "only a little," "a fair amount," and "a great deal."

It is often useful in survey analysis to compare the different responses to a question and look beyond the overall totals.

In the chart here, I have broken out the responses for each issue. Note in the chart that as the overall total level of worry for a specific issue increases, the number of Missourians who worried "only a little" decreases (the red shaded areas on the left) and the number that worry "a fair amount" stays about the same (the yellow shaded areas in the middle). It is the number of Missourians who worry "a great deal" that steadily increases as the overall level of worry increases (the green shaded areas on the right).

This suggests increasing awareness and concern for the conservation issues that have the highest levels of worry. Something about the issue itself has a stronger emotional meaning or seems more important. It could be that the issues that have the highest level of worry seem closer, or more personally "real" to Missourians.

Tomorrow, I'll look at just the top two responses for each conservation issue in the question. I want to see how the issues compare using the strongest levels of concern, including the responses of "a fair amount" and "a great deal," to see if this "top two" approach provides a different perspective about the level of importance of these issues to Missourians.

Missourians Personally Worry About Conservation Issues

When asked about a variety of conservation issues, the pollution of drinking water had the highest level of personal worry by Missourians.

Almost all Missourians worry about drinking water pollution, pollution of rivers, streams, and lakes, air pollution, and the loss of natural habitat for wildlife. A clear majority of Missourians also worry about not enough regulation for housing, business, or shopping developments, urban sprawl, and channelized or altered streams.

Many of these kinds of conservation issues were also discussed in a report published by the Brookings Institute in December, 2002 entitled Growth in the Heartland: Challenges and Opportunities for Missouri. The executive summary of that report is available here.

The Brookings Institute report describes Missouri as:

"Situated in the heartland, Missouri reflects the full range of American reality. The state is highly urban yet deeply rural. It contains two bustling metropolises, numerous fast growing suburbs, and dozens of typically American small towns. Elsewhere lie tranquil swaths of open country where farmers still rise before dawn and the view consists mainly of rich cropland, trees, and sky. Missouri sums up the best of the nation, in short."

The Brookings Report executive summary closes with:

"In the end: Citizens and localities have choices about how their communities grow, and can meaningfully shape their communities' futures for the better. Hopefully Growth in the Heartland will help Missourians make the best possible choices to ensure their state grows in a fiscally responsible and high-quality manner for generations to come."

For me, the most important message from the Brookings report is that Missourians are moving away from the truly urban and truly rural areas. The resulting increase of suburban areas will continue to have impacts on a variety of conservation issues. It is obvious that many Missourians personally worry about those conservation issues.

The results of how Missourians personally worry about conservation issues are from a conservation opinion survey conducted for the Missouri Department of Conservation by the University of Missouri in 2003. The survey was conducted by mail and a statistically valid random sample of Missouri adults from every Zip Code in Missouri were asked to provide their opinions. A total of 6,352 Missourians provided completed survey forms. The results reported here include the responses of "a little," "a fair amount," and "a great deal."

Missouri: Forestry and Wood Products

In Missouri, there are about 14 million acres that are forested; and most of the forests in Missouri are privately owned, at about 85 percent of the acres.

The wood-using and forest products industry in Missouri has an economic impact of about $4.4 billion each year and supports 32,250 jobs with earnings of $1.1 billion.

Each year, the forestry and wood-using industries in Missouri generate $54 million in state sales tax.

More than 1 million acres of forests have been added to Missouri's landscape in the last 30 years.

Forests in Missouri are increasing faster than they are being harvested.

Forests are important to Missourians who enjoy outdoor recreation such as camping, sightseeing, watching birds, canoeing, photographing nature, hunting, or fishing.

Forests in Missouri are essential for healthy streams, clean water, wildlife habitat, and environmental stability.

At the Missouri Department of Conservation forest nursery, each year, more than 5 million seedlings of more than 50 species are grown and distributed throughout the state. The seedlings are planted on both public and private land.

In the recent fiscal year, more than $270,000 of cost-share assistance was provided by the Missouri Department of Conservation to more than 40 Missouri communities for tree planting and maintenance of urban forest resources.

Missouri Department of Conservation staff work with over 800 fire departments to offer training, to provide federal excess equipment, to provide grants for the purchase of fire equipment, and to assist in wildfire prevention activities.

The amount of sales tax generated from the forest products industry and fish and wildlife recreation is well over the amount of sales tax received by the Missouri Department of Conservation from the Conservation Sales Tax; in other words, conservation pays its way in Missouri.

A fact sheet on Missouri forestry and wood products is on page 15 of the 2005-2006 Annual Report of the Missouri Department of Conservation available at: http://mdc4.mdc.mo.gov/Documents/13141.pdf
There is additional information on the accomplishments related to forestry on pages 17-35 and 47.

Economic Activity Generated by Missouri Anglers

Fishing catches more than just a fistful of dollars in the Missouri economy.

Using data from the 2001 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation, all fishing in Missouri by anglers 16 years and older generates $772,090,940 in retail sales each year.

The expenditures have an economic impact of $1,561,999,764 (that’s over $1.5 billion) support 13,870 jobs with $340,274,506 in earnings, and generate $38,755,026 in state sales taxes.

Black bass fishing has the largest economic influence at over $560 million ($560,823,740) in overall economic impact, followed by crappie fishing with $242,102,174, then trout fishing with $240,096,201, and fishing for catfish with $156,831,989.

Nonresident anglers contribute $130,435,326 to the overall fishing expenditures, and their expenditures generate $254,296,023 in overall economic impact. The expenditures of nonresident anglers support 2,438 jobs and $7,318,285 in state sales taxes.

On the average, each angler in Missouri spends $635.49 each year. Resident anglers spend more each year per person, at $680.82, than do nonresidents, who spend $478.71 per person.

Missouri resident trout anglers spend the most per person each year, on the average, at $662.92, followed by black bass anglers with $537.89. Panfish anglers spend the least amount per person each year, at $144.51.

When I was a boy, $144.51 would have purchased quite a pile of cane poles, bobbers, and worms. Instead, I often used my grandfather’s cane pole, or sometimes just a long stick, with a cotton twine line and a steel hook. The bobber might have been relatively new. I pulled a bunch of bluegill from a farm pond with that type of rig.

When my own boys were young, we managed to spend more for the same kind of fun, using child-sized Zebco rods and reels, plastic PowerBait, and cool-colored bobbers. With two boys, they kept me pretty busy keeping hooks baited, lines untangled, and rods pointed towards the water. Our trips to the store certainly helped the Missouri economy, one bobber at a time.

Obviously, current generations of Missouri anglers are also making trips to the store for poles, line, bobbers, and bait, with a positive effect on the Missouri economy.

More information about the economic impacts of fishing, hunting, and wildlife-related recreation, in addition to participation and demographics information, is in a report entitled "The 2001 Economic Benefits of Hunting, Fishing, and Wildlife Watching in Missouri" available at: http://www.southwickassociates.com/freereports/default.aspx

Economic Activity Generated by Missouri Wildlife Watchers

Wildlife viewing is an important economic activity in Missouri.

Using data from the 2001 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation, all wildlife watching activities in Missouri by those 16 years of age and older, generates $448,755,690 in retail sales each year.

These expenditures have an economic impact of $937,795,501, support 7,850 jobs with $200,070,083 in earnings, and generate $22,095,502 in state sales taxes.

It is interesting to note that the retail sales, economic impact, and state sales taxes generated by wildlife viewing activities are slightly higher than for the activity of hunting in Missouri.

Nonresident wildlife viewers contribute $117,792,624 to the overall wildlife viewing expenditures, and generate $229,607,674 in economic impact. The expenditures of nonresident wildlife viewers support 2,030 jobs and $6,575,202 in state sales taxes.

On the average, each Missouri resident wildlife viewer spends about $80.91 annually on wildlife watching near the home, and $401.46 each year for wildlife watching away from home. Nonresident wildlife viewers spend slightly more per year in Missouri, on wildlife watching away from their homes, than Missouri residents, at $537.81.

More information about the economic impacts of wildlife-related recreation, hunting, and fishing, in addition to participation and demographics information, is in a report entitled "The 2001 Economic Benefits of Hunting, Fishing, and Wildlife Watching in Missouri" available at: http://www.southwickassociates.com/freereports/default.aspx

Economic Activity Generated by Missouri Hunters

Hunting is really "cooking" in the Missouri economy.

Using data from the 2001 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation, all hunting in Missouri by hunters 16 years and older generates $437,194,608 in retail sales each year.

The expenditures have an economic impact of $853,390,343, support 8,007 jobs with $191,169,148 in earnings, and generate $18,074,340 in state sales taxes.

Deer hunting has the largest economic influence at over $445 million ($445,403,674) in overall economic impact, followed by turkey hunting with $248,146,380, then small game hunting with $89,966,991, and migratory bird hunting with $66,044,839.

Nonresident hunters contribute $72,982,053 to the overall hunting expenditures, and their expenditures generate $148,267,468 in overall economic impact. The expenditures of nonresident hunters support 1,360 jobs and $3,471,380 in state sales taxes.

On the average, each hunter in Missouri spends $894.77 each year. Resident hunters spend slightly more each year per person, at $900.33, than for nonresidents, who spend $868.01 per person.

More information about the economic impacts of hunting, fishing, and wildlife-related recreation, in addition to participation and demographics information, is in a report entitled "The 2001 Economic Benefits of Hunting, Fishing, and Wildlife Watching in Missouri" available at: http://www.southwickassociates.com/freereports/default.aspx

Missouri: Wildlife Recreation

There are about 1.8 million individuals in Missouri each year, age 16 years and older, that view, feed, photograph, and observe wildlife. An additional 320,000 Missouri residents of ages 6 to 15 are involved in wildlife watching.

Each year, over 738,000 individuals participate in wildlife watching in Missouri away from their home. Of the total nonresidential wildlife watchers, 519,000 are state residents and 219,000 are nonresidents.

The wildlife viewing that occurs away from home involves over 4 million trips each year and wildlife watchers spend, on average, about 17 days participating in some kind of wildlife viewing. For individual activities, on average: 19 days are spent observing wildlife; 7 days photographing wildlife; and 26 days feeding wildlife. Overall, over 12.4 million days are spent viewing wildlife away from home.

Around their home, over 1.5 million Missourians participate in wildlife watching. Overall, over 106 million days are spent observing and photographing wildlife by Missourians near their homes.

The economic impact of wildlife viewing in Missouri includes $449 million in total expenditures that result in a total economic impact of over $937 million. The expenditures support 7,850 jobs and generate $200 million in earnings. The expenditures generate over $22 million in state sales taxes and a combined total of over $30 million in state sales and income taxes.

In Missouri, adults involved in wildlife viewing would fill Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City more than 23 times.

The amount of sales tax generated from fish and wildlife recreation and the forest products industry in Missouri is well over the amount of sales tax received by the Missouri Department of Conservation from the Conservation Sales Tax; in other words, conservation pays its way in Missouri.

More information is available from the 2001 National Survey report for Missouri which is available at: http://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/01fhw/fhw01-mo.pdf and the economics report for Missouri which is available at: http://www.southwickassociates.com/freereports/default.aspx

A fact sheet on Missouri hunting and fishing is on page 14 of the 2005-2006 Annual Report of the Missouri Department of Conservation and is available at: http://mdc4.mdc.mo.gov/Documents/13141.pdf

Missouri: Hunting and Fishing

In Missouri, there are about 489,000 hunters each year, that are of age 16 years and older. There are an additional 92,000 hunters that are of age 6 to 15 years.

Of the total hunters 16 years and older, 405,000 are state residents and 84,000 are nonresidents. Deer hunting is the most popular in terms of hunter numbers and days spent hunting. There are over twice as many deer hunters as turkey hunters and deer hunters spend over twice as many total days hunting as turkey hunters.

Each year, hunters spend an average of about 15 days hunting. Migratory bird hunters spend the most days on average, at about 13 days. Rabbit hunters spend the fewest days hunting, at about 9 days.

Overall, hunters spend over 6.6 million days hunting each year.

In Missouri, there are about 1.2 million anglers each year, of age 16 years or older. There are an additional 321,000 that participate that are of age 6 to 15 years old. Of the total freshwater anglers in Missouri, age 16 years and older, 942,000 are state residents and 272,000 are nonresidents. Most fishing activity, in numbers of anglers and days spent fishing, is for black bass.

Each year, anglers spend an average of about 11 days fishing. Catfish anglers spend the most days, at about 11 days, and trout anglers the fewest, at about 6 days.

Overall, anglers fish a total of over 13.2 million days each year.

Hunters and anglers in Missouri spend over $1.2 billion each year in retail sales, support 21,877 jobs, and generate $57 million in state sales tax. The total sales and income taxes generated is $77 million. The total economic impact each year from the retail sales is over $2.4 billion. That is $2.4 billion of economic impact.

Put into other terms, more Missourians hunt or fish than the number who attend St. Louis Rams or Kansas City Chiefs games.

One of every four Missouri residents hunts or fishes.

Annual spending by hunters and anglers is more than the cash receipts for cattle production in Missouri.

The amount of sales tax generated from fish and wildlife recreation and the forest products industry is well over the amount of sales tax received by the Missouri Department of Conservation from the Conservation Sales Tax; in other words, conservation pays its way in Missouri.

More information is available from the 2001 National Survey report for Missouri which is available at: http://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/01fhw/fhw01-mo.pdf and the economics report for Missouri is available at: http://www.southwickassociates.com/freereports/default.aspx

A fact sheet on Missouri hunting and fishing is on page 13 of the 2005-2006 Annual Report of the Missouri Department of Conservation available at: http://mdc4.mdc.mo.gov/Documents/13141.pdf

The National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation: Information for Conservation in Missouri

The National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation is a nationwide survey that has been conducted about every five years since 1955. It is the only source of comprehensive information on participation and expenditures related to fishing, hunting, and wildlife recreation that is comparable on a state-by-state basis. It provides information on the number of participants in fishing, hunting, and wildlife watching (observing, photographing, and feeding wildlife) and the amount of time and money spent on those activities.

I use information from this survey every working day to answer questions about how many individuals fish, hunt, or watch wildlife in Missouri and what they spend on those activities. The information on expenditures is used to calculate economic impacts. Further analysis of the data provides estimates of participation and economic impact for many individual species or categories of fish and wildlife.

The survey is the single best source for fishing, hunting, and wildlife-related recreation participation and expenditure information for the state of Missouri and the information is critically important for decision-makers and staff in the Missouri Department of Conservation.

The survey is conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at the request of the individual state agencies responsible for fish and wildlife management. The most recent survey was conducted in 2006 and the new data is expected to be available later this summer.

The survey is carefully designed and conducted using the most appropriate statistical methods. A representative sample of people nationwide is randomly selected to participate in the survey. In 2001, the U.S. Census Bureau collected information for the survey in two phases. The first phase was the screening sample which began in April 2001. During the screening phase, the Census Bureau interviewed a sample of 77,000 households nationwide to determine who in the household had fished, hunted, or wildlife watched in 2000, and who had engaged or planned to engage in those activities in 2001. In most cases, one adult household member provided information for all household members. The screen primarily covered 2000 activities while the next, more in-depth phase, covered 2001 activities.

The second phase of data collection consisted of three detailed interview waves. The first wave began in April 2001, the second in September 2001, and the last in January 2002. Interviews were conducted with samples of likely anglers, hunters, and wildlife watchers who were identified in the initial screening phase. The Census Bureau conducted these interviews primarily by telephone, with in-person interviews in the first and third interview waves for those respondents who could not be reached by telephone. Respondents in the detailed interviews were limited to persons at least 16 years old. Each respondent provided information pertaining only to his or her activities and expenditures. Sample sizes were designed to provide statistically reliable results at the State level. Altogether, interviews were completed for 25,070 respondents from the sportspersons sample and 15,303 from the wildlife watchers sample. The response rate for the screen phase was 75%. For the sportspersons sample it was 88% and for the wildlife-watching sample, 90%.

A wide variety of reports are prepared using data from the survey. More information about the 2001 National Survey and a listing of available reports is available at: http://federalaid.fws.gov/surveys/surveys.html

A listing, with links to pdf files available, of the national reports and the reports for the individual states for both the 2001 and 1996 surveys is available at: http://www.census.gov/prod/www/abs/fishing.html

The actual data from the survey is available, along with a data dictionary, at: http://www.bls.census.gov/ferretftp.htm#fish_hunt and data can be extracted online to create custom datasets using a utility from the Census Bureau at: http://dataferrett.census.gov/

Additional economic analysis that uses data from the National Survey is conducted by Southwick Associates, a private economics company, and is available at: http://www.southwickassociates.com/freereports/default.aspx

Conservation for the Next Generations

When I was in graduate school in the late 1980s, while working in a Forestry and Natural Resources computer lab at Purdue University somewhere near midnight, a fellow student asked me a philosophical question. It's often easy to be philosophical around midnight, especially if you are tired and beginning to look for something else to do rather than whatever you have been working on or studying about for the last 16 hours. He asked something like, "What do you think will be your most significant impact on the future?"

My sons at that time were 4 years old and 2 years old. My response was immediate; my children. The other student seemed not to understand, since he had been thinking about what impacts would result from our efforts in the field of resource management and he did not have children to consider.

I did not know then, and may never know completely, what differences my children will make for others and in the future. However, they impact the lives of others every day in some way. And the actions that they take, the example they set, how they vote or don't vote, and how they influence the views of others about natural resources, regardless of their career choices, to either contribute to the sustainability of fish, forest, and wildlife resources or to diminish those resources, may have greater impacts for their children and future generations than whatever I accomplish in the field of resource management.

I do think my efforts can make a difference for conservation in some way for the future. But I have no doubts that it is our combined efforts, and the efforts of our children and future generations of Missourians, that will determine the success or failure of conservation in Missouri, in the United States, and in the world. It's been up to me to provide opportunities for my children to understand the natural world and their place in it. It's been their choice to experience those opportunities and then consider what the outdoor world and the next generation of conservation means to them. To have positive impacts, they can certainly follow the examples provided by Missourians of the past that supported conservation, were aware of the natural world, and took actions to ensure that resources were managed both for the present and the future.

Perhaps the information I provide in these postings can help increase awareness about fish, forest, and wildlife resources in Missouri and the conservation efforts of the Missouri Department of Conservation. Then, fish, forests, wildlife, and the quality of life for all Missourians might continue to be improved for many of the next generations.

More information about conservation and opportunities to experience the outdoors of Missouri is available at: http://www.missouriconservation.org

Conservation education information is available at: http://www.mdc.mo.gov/teacher/ and information about education opportunities and events, from beginning archery and dutch oven cooking, to shooting and hunter education, to tree education and more, is available at: http://www.mdc.mo.gov/applications/events/teacher.htm

Five Facts About the Missouri Department of Conservation

1. Missourians are Satisfied with the Job of the Missouri Department of Conservation.

Over 60 percent of Missourians believe the Missouri Department of Conservation is doing an excellent or good job of providing services to themselves, their family, their community, and the State of Missouri: 64 percent believe that the Department is doing a good job of providing services to themselves; 63 percent to their family; 61 percent to their community; and 67 percent to the State of Missouri.

2. Missourians are Interested in Missouri’s Fish, Forests, and Wildlife, and Want to Protect Missouri’s Conservation Heritage.

Most Missourians (93 percent) report that they are interested in Missouri’s fish, forests, and wildlife. Most Missourians (91 percent) agree that “It is important for outdoor places to be protected even if you don’t plan to visit the area.” Most Missourians (84 percent) agree that natural areas should be designated “to protect Missouri’s best examples of forests, prairies, marshes, and glades.”

3. Missourians Approve of Acquiring Land for Conservation.

Almost three-quarters (73 percent) of all Missourians agree that “Land should be acquired for fish, forest, and wildlife conservation.” When asked about the less than 2 percent of Missouri’s acres that are owned or managed by the Department, only 2 percent said that amount is “Too much.”

4. Less than One Percent of the State of Missouri Budget is Spent on Conservation.

The total budget for the Missouri Department of Conservation is less than one percent of the total State of Missouri budget.

Health and Social Services - 37.8%
Education - 28.1%
Government Services - 20.1%
Transportation - 10.4%
Natural and Economic Resources - 2.8%
Conservation - 0.8%

5. Conservation Pays Its Way in Missouri.

"Conservation Pays Its Way in Missouri" since the sales tax revenue generated each year from the retail sales related to fish and wildlife recreation and the forest products industry is well over the amount that is received by the Missouri Department of Conservation from the one-eighth of one percent Conservation Sales Tax. Each year, fishing, hunting, wildlife recreation, and forestry activities have an economic impact of over $7 billion in Missouri.

More information about the Missouri Department of Conservation is available in the 2005-2006 Annual Report available at: http://www.mdc.mo.gov/about/annual/
Included in the annual report is a 2-page summary on pages 4 and 5.

Conservation Pays Its Way in Missouri

In 2001, 2.5 million residents and non-residents of Missouri, age 16 years and older, participated in some form of fish and wildlife-related recreation in Missouri. These anglers, hunters, and wildlife viewers spent over $1.6 billion in retail sales ($1.3 billion by residents and 321 million by non-residents), which generated over 731 million in salaries and wages and supported 29,727 jobs. The total economic effect from fish and wildlife-related recreation was over 3.3 billion. The retail spending generated 79 million in state sales tax revenues, 29 million in state income tax revenues, and 117 million in federal income taxes.

The forestry and wood products industry in Missouri is an over 4.4 million dollar activity and supports 32,250 jobs. The forestry and wood-using industries in Missouri generate 54 million each year in state sales taxes.

The combined economic impact of fish and wildlife-related recreation and the forest industry in Missouri is $7.8 billion.

Conservation pays its way in Missouri.

Or in other words, for every dollar spent each year through the annual budget of the Missouri Department of Conservation, there are 52 dollars generated each year of economic impact in Missouri. Every dollar spent equals 52 dollars in economic impact.

Conservation pays its way in Missouri.

The combined sales tax revenues generated in Missouri by fish and wildlife recreation spending and the forest and wood-using industries is well over the amount received each year by the Missouri Department of Conservation from the Conservation Sales Tax.

Conservation pays its way in Missouri.

And these numbers do not include the many ways that the outdoor environment and Missouri's fish, forest, and wildlife resources enhance our quality of life every day.

Conservation pays its way in Missouri.

More information about economic impacts is available in the Missouri Department of Conservation's 2005-2006 annual report available at http://www.mdc.mo.gov/13141 and in the national surveys conducted for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service available at: http://federalaid.fws.gov/surveys/surveys.html and at: http://www.census.gov/prod/www/abs/fishing.html

The economic impact report for Missouri, and other states, is available at: http://www.southwickassociates.com/freereports/default.aspx