On Target: Wildlife-based recreation dwarfs the state's famed ski industry in impact.

• Author: Madison, Rachel
• Position: Business Trends

Chances are, if you've spent any amount of time in Utah, you know the state has a rich outdoor offering. That's why it's no surprise that Utah is well known both locally and nationally for its hunting, fishing and wildlife-watching industries. In fact, these three wildlife-based hobbies have created such an impact on Utah's economy that they brought in nearly $3 billion in 2011--the latest year the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR) has data for.

And the amount of people who participate in these industries is staggering. More than a million people participated annually in hunting, fishing or wildlife watching in Utah in 2011, and in doing so, they supported nearly 29,000 jobs and created nearly $933 million in salaries and wages.

Greg Sheehan, director of the Utah DWR, says every five years, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Census Bureau publish a report on the economic benefits of hunting, fishing and wildlife watching nationally. The most recent data was published in 2013, with the data in that report showing economic impacts through 2011.

With that data, another study is conducted by Florida-based Southwick Associates for the Utah DWR to specifically quantify economic benefits of hunting, fishing and wildlife watching just in Utah. The next national report with this data, and the subsequent report on Utah, will be published in 2018 and include data through 2016.

Hunting

In 2011, there were 212,000 adults who bought hunting licenses in Utah, according to the Southwick study. These participants spent a total of over three million days hunting in 2011, and about 77 percent of these hunters pursued big game, with deer and elk being the most frequently hunted. About 33 percent of hunters pursued small game, with pheasant being the most frequently hunted.

Sheehan explains that in Utah, some hunting can be done just by purchasing a license, primarily for small game such as ducks and rabbits. With other hunts, hunters must apply to a drawing to obtain a special permit, or tag, to hunt for big game, such as moose and elk. "Some years you get the opportunity to hunt the big game you want, and other times you have to wait many years to get drawn for what you want," he says.

Sheehan used the year 2002--when the Winter Olympics were held in Salt Lake City--as a marker to show how much hunting popularity has grown in Utah.

"In 2002, we had 180,610 people apply in drawings for big game hunting," he says. "In 2016, we had 433,979...