http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/05/wildlife-refuges_n_4217362.html?utm_hp_ref=green
Bird watching, hunting or just picnicking. Whatever the reason, visits to the nation's 561 wildlife refuges are big business.
A new report says visitors to federal wildlife refuges generate more than $2 billion a year in economic activity, helping to employ more than 35,000 people and produce about $343 million in local, state and federal taxes.
Recreational activities such as birding, hiking and picnicking account for nearly 75 percent of total expenditures at wildlife refuges across the country, the report says, while fishing and hunting account for about 28 percent of expenditures.
Bird watching, hunting or just picnicking. Whatever the reason, visits to the nation's 561 wildlife refuges are big business.
A new report says visitors to federal wildlife refuges generate more than $2 billion a year in economic activity, helping to employ more than 35,000 people and produce about $343 million in local, state and federal taxes.
Recreational activities such as birding, hiking and picnicking account for nearly 75 percent of total expenditures at wildlife refuges across the country, the report says, while fishing and hunting account for about 28 percent of expenditures.
