How does a $14.4 billion Texas-based industry go unnoticed? Easy when you consider most of its participants go about their business cloaked in camouflage or tucked in some secluded backwater hideaway.Despite not appearing on the stock market rolls, hunters, anglers and wildlife watchers in Texas collectively are a major economic force, according to new findings by the Southwick Associates, a Florida-based research firm specializing in economic and business statistics related to fish and wildlife resources.
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Wildlife Division commissioned the Southwick group to ascertain the economic effect from fish and wildlife-related recreation in Texas, based on data in the 2006 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation. The firm recently completed its Texas-focused report. According to the Southwick report, the economic effect from Texas hunters, anglers and wildlife watchers was estimated to be $14.4 billion. In other words, if these outdoor enthusiasts were to stop spending money in Texas and not spend these dollars on other in-state items, the state economy would shrink by $14.4 billion. Continue reading Hunting and Fishing Worth $14.4 Billion in Texas