[mou] USFWS report on birders, who we are

[Jim Williams]

The following is from Carrol Henderson, supervisor of the non-game
department of the Minnesota DNR. (For those of you who live outside
Minnesota, there is some information here pertinent only to Minnesota since
the report was summarized for that audience. I believe individual state
information can be found on the web presentation of the report. And, of
course, some of the summaries are for the country at large. JJW)

From: "Carrol Henderson" <Carrol.Henderson@dnr.state.mn.us>
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 09:46:50 -0600

The US Fish and Wildlife Service has just issued a new Report (2001-1)
called Birding in the United States, A Demographic and Economic
Analysis. It is an Addendum to the 2001 National Survey of Fishing,
Hunting, and Wildlife-Association Recreation.

There are some relevant and significant statistics in the report about
the economic benefits of birding/widlife watching.  The survey results
are based on 15,300 wildlife-watching interviews nationwide (response
rate 90%) for U.S. residents 16 years and older.   Among the results:

1. There are 46 million "birders" in the US, (40 million backyard birders;
18 million travel to see birds)

2.  The average birder is 49 years old, and a majority (54%) are
females.

3.  The average percent of people in the population who "bird" is
22%, but Minnesota's rate ranks fourth in the nation at 36%.  Only Montana
(44%), Vermont (43%), and Wisconsin (41%) have higher rates.

4.  The highest participation rates for birding were among people with four
years or more of college (26 to 33%)

5.  The highest participation rates for birding were among people
who earned $75,000 or more per year (27%).

6.  Metropolitan areas had more total birders, but a lower overall
participation rate (18%).

7.  Minnesota was estimated to have a total of 1,471,000 birders.
Of that total, 90% were residents and 10% were visiting Minnesota to view
the birds.

8.  88% of all birders watch birds from their homes.

9.  40% of birders travel more than a mile from their homes to see birds.

10. The most sought-after kinds of birds were
a. Waterfowl (78% of all birders)
b. Songbirds (70%) 
c. Birds of prey (68%)
d. Shorebirds/herons (56%)
e. Other birds like pheasants and turkeys (43%).

11. Avidity: 74% of the birders could identify 1-20 bird
species; 13% could identify 21-40 species; 8% could identify 41 or more
species; and 5% of all birders kept life lists.

12. Expenditures:  Birders spent $32 billion in retail sales
nationwide in 2001 to enjoy their hobby. This includes bird feeding,
photography, and birding/wildlife watching.  (Optics sales-$471.3 million;
Cameras- $1.43 billion; film-$837.9 million; Bird food $2.24 billion!; Nest
boxes, feeders & bird baths-$628 million; and $640 million for wildlife
plantings).        

13. This expenditure resulted in $85 billion in overall economic
output.

14. A total of $13 billion was spent in state and federal taxes
for items purchased for birding ($4.89  billion in state taxes and $7.70
billion in federal taxes.

15. The birding industry resulted in the creation of 863,406 jobs
in 2001.

16. The net economic value of a birder for a resident state is
$257 per year ($35 per day).  For MN, this equates to $257 x 1,323,900
resident birders = $340,242,300 per year.

17. The net economic value of a birder who comes from another
state to bird in MN is $488 per year ($124 per day). For MN, this equates to
a value of $488 x 147,100= $71,784,800.

18. The grand total for economic value of retail sales/direct economic
impact in MN is $412,027,100 per year, based on 2001 sales.

19. Overall economic impact:  If you multiply the $412 million in
sales by the overall economic impact multiplication factor (2.65625), you
get a total economic benefit in MN of $1.09 billion overall economic output
per year.

MY OPINION ADDED HERE

20. The bottom line: there is a lot more to the Minnesota
outdoor recreation scene than has been previously recognized or
acknowledged. Hunting, fishing, golf, boating, visiting casinos and
viewing fall colors have long been and continue to be important staples for
the recreation and tourism industry. Birders and wildlife watchers represent
an often-overlooked but well-educated and relatively affluent group of
stakeholders and natural resource users. They help diversify the economic
base of rural and urban communities and are important allies in the
conservation community to help support natural resource and wildlife
conservation initiatives.