Jon L. Christensen: “Mr. Speaker, there is little doubt that hunting and fishing remain popular recreational pastimes for millions of…”

“Mr. Speaker, there is little doubt that hunting and fishing remain popular recreational pastimes for millions of Americans. These activities remain as much a fabric of American culture as the village green in New England or the county fair in Nebraska. According to the National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation, expenditures by sportsmen in 2001 totaled $70 billion. By any measure, this is a significant figure. It demonstrates the substantial economic importance of these traditional forms of outdoor recreation to our national economy, but most especially to our rural economy. However, I also consider it important to note that other types of nonconsumptive wildlife-based recreation, activities such as bird watching and wildlife photography, also provide significant economic benefits that we would be remiss to overlook. According to National Survey data, these activities contributed an additional $38.4 billion to the economy in the same year. In fact, over 66 million people enjoyed these activities, almost double the number of sportsmen who only hunt or fish.”