Many rural people hope that new industries such as
tourism will offset the losses when timber and mining industries
pull out of an area. Research conducted by the University of
Idaho’s College of Agriculture found that for at least that one
small county, recreation is not bringing in enough money to keep
suffering economies afloat. The research was conducted in Clark
County, pop. 800, in southeast Idaho, a county bordering Montana
and close to Yellowstone Park. The study was funded by the Clark
County Commissioners, Clark County Stock Growers and federal land
management agencies.
“Rural communities don’t
catch a fair amount of the money spent on recreation,” says
extension economist Neil Meyer. “The money goes to the community
where the recreationalists are from, and most of the economic
benefits occur there.” Meyer said only 3 percent of the money spent
on camping is seen in the county while 97 percent is spent back at
a camper’s home – economically healthy cities like Boise, Salt Lake
City or Pocatello. “This results in a question of fairness, not
right or wrong,” says Meyer. “How do we get funds to these
communities? How do these communities fund search and rescue?”
The 27-page report by Neil Meyer, Aaron Harp and
Kevin McGuire, Economic Impacts and Fiscal Costs of Public Land
Recreation in Clark County, Idaho, is available from Meyer at the
University of Idaho, Cooperative Extension System, Moscow,
ID
83844-2334 (208/885-6335),
e-mail:
nmeyer@uidaho.edu. – Juniper
Davis
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Recreation doesn’t cut it.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
