Wildlife-related outdoor recreation increased dramatically from 2006 to 2011, according to a recent study released by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The data is contained in the the final report of the 2011 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation. Included in the report are details about the types of activities and money spent for fishing, hunting, and wildlife watching.
More than 90 million U.S. residents 16 years old and older participated in some form of wildlife-related recreation in 2011 ( up 3 percent from 2006).
In 2011, wildlife recreationists spent $144.7 billion on their activities; $49.5 billion was trip-related, $70.4 billion was spent on equipment, and $24.8 billion was spent on items such as licenses and land leasing and ownership.
In 2011, 33.1 million people fished, 13.7 million hunted, and 71.8 million participated in at least one type of wildlife-watching activity such as observing, feeding and photographing wildlife.
71.8 million U.S. residents observed, fed, and/or photographed birds and other wildlife in 2011. Roughly 68.6 million people wildlife watched around their homes.
U.S. enthusiasts traveled extensively to observe wildlife in 2011. 22.5 million people took trips of at least one mile from home to primarily wildlife watch.
13.7 million people enjoyed watching land mammals; 4 million people watched marine mammals; 6.4 million enjoyed watching fish; and 10.1 million enjoyed watching other wildlife such as butterflies.
People spent $54.9 billion on their wildlife-watching trips, equipment, and other items in 2011.
source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
