July 26th, 2009
A report recently released by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2009 claims that a remarkable one in every five Americans watches birds, and that birdwatching contributed $36 billion to the U.S. economy in 2006.
The original report (
pdf here) says that birdwatching was worth 82 bilion dollars accounted for 671,000 jobs and reaped in 11 billlion dollars in tax revenue. The first five US states with greatest birding participation rates were Montana (40 percent), Maine (39 percent), Vermont (38 percent), Minnesota (33 percent) and Iowa (33 percent). The study states that the average birder is 50 years old and likely to be female, with a better than average education and income. California is near the bottom of the list at 15%, a percentage greater than only four other states (New Jersey, Texas and North Dakota at 14% and Hawaii at 10%).
Picked up on
Wildlife Extra.
North America nature, United States nature | Tags: Birdwatching in the US, Contribution of birdwatching to the US economy|