America’s Wilderness WWW.WILDERNESS.ORG
© Michael DeYoung, michaeldeyoung.com
MEMBER NEWSLETTER SUMMER 2013 VOL. XV, NO. 3
The Wealth of the Wild Our wild public lands play a key role in supporting American jobs and businesses. Photo: Zion National Park, Utah.
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estled between Lake Tahoe and Yosemite National Park in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, Calaveras County was shaped by the boom and bust of the California Gold Rush. Today, this gateway to the Sierra Nevada enjoys a more lasting currency with its scenic beauty and natural wonders. In doing so, it is helping conservation win on a new front: America’s growing recreation economy. Calaveras County is far from alone in recognizing the value of outdoor recreation as a path to economic prosperity. Outdoor recreation is an economic powerhouse in the United States, one that has grown even during tough financial times. The Outdoor Industry Association reports that 6.1 million American jobs depend directly on outdoor recreation. This mammoth industry generates $646 billion in consumer spending each year, on everything from backpacking gear to fishing tackle to mountain bikes.
But this extends far beyond gear and equipment to include travel and tourism on public lands. Tourism, by far the largest industry in Calaveras County and many other places in the United States, is largely driven by people visiting natural attractions like the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness and Stanislaus National Forest. These visitors stay at local motels, eat at restaurants and shop at stores. California’s Sierra Nevada Adventure Company, a small chain of outdoor retailers, is a good example of a business that relies almost exclusively on access to public lands. Owners Jill and Shawn Seale started out selling rafting supplies out of the back of Shawn’s truck, and built the business into three stores that capitalize on the area’s abundance of granite lakes and proximity to the Sierras. The stores cater to flat-water kayakers, skiers, hikers and other outdoor-lovers.
The Sierra Nevada Adventure Company stores pay a living wage and benefits to their dozen or so employees, and remained anchors in their community even while central California was battered by the recession. “Our stores depend on nearby public lands and people who love the outdoors,” says Jill. “Without them, we don’t have a business.” Outdoor recreation provides a stable— and growing—source of income to many people, businesses and communities. Many of the jobs it supports, from the restaurant workers who serve tourists, to river guides who show people the rapids, cannot be outsourced. And it provides a buffer against the boom-and-bust cycles of extractive industries like mining and drilling. Recent polling suggests that Americans are waking up to the idea that protecting public lands—rather than developing them—helps bolster local economies. The business community is also seeing that benefit. continued on page 2
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AND YOU: OPENING TO 4 WILDERNESS WILDERNESS, CONNECTING TO OURSELVES
PLACES: BIRTHPLACE OF 6 WILD RIVERS AND HERMOSA CREEK