"$351 million is added to the U.S. economy every day from recreation on federal lands and waters," that's the headline stat from a new report from the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable on public lands and the revenue they deliver to the US economy. For a year, that comes out to $1.2 trillion. And they support over 5 million US jobs throughout the year.
Why am I giving you facts and figures right off the bat? Because I need you all to understand this, as while it may not seem like public lands do much from an outsider's perspective, the cumulative revenue driving these "static" places is truly one of the biggest revenue makers in our nation.
In fact, it's a bigger revenue driver than oil and gas extraction, a bigger revenue driver than agriculture and forestry, a bigger revenue driver than electronics and mining, and a bigger revenue driver than all of our utilities and infrastructure. And by a lot, as all of them combined would barely touch what outdoor recreation does to the US' overall GDP.
So all the ventures, companies, and extractive industries that our idiot politicians are attempting to sell these wild places to, they don't mean shit in terms of actual dollars and cents. And if history shows us anything, it's that they'll sell these public lands off for pennies compared to what they're actually worth in the long term, which isn't just wrong on a base level, it's fiscally irresponsible to the point of stupidity. Which absolutely tracks for how Washington works, as despite all their "Budgetary concerns about the deficit," they'll pull stuff like this and make our economy and lives far worse.
The report, which you should absolutely read in full, breaks down just how much public lands contribute to our economy, both in terms of hard dollars, and with how many jobs it supports. Millions of Americans, across the hunting, fishing, off-roading, camping, hiking, and federal positions, derive their income from these places in some way or another. It's the off-roading guides, the snowmobile operators, the hunters and fishermen and all the gear they utilize, the park rangers and staff, and oh so many more.
Frankly, it's one of the biggest employers if you take all that into account. Killing it because you owe your buddies favors, or hate the idea of public ownership of anything (even though the federal government is now taking stakes in certain large companies), is beyond the pale.
"Federal public lands and waters are the foundation of the outdoor recreation economy. We wanted to quantify what that really means so this appreciating and sustainable asset can be considered on America’s balance sheet. What we found is that access to outdoor recreation on America’s public lands and waters contributes an average of $351 million to the economy every day," said Whitney Porter Schwartz, senior vice president at ORR, adding, "The data underscores that conserving and maintaining access to these landscapes and waterways is not only a business imperative but also a consistent, high-return investment in the nation’s health and economic growth."
Yet, that's all just coming from a revenue and tax perspective. I'm not even talking cultural aspect of public lands, as these are so integral to who were are as Americans, their sell-off to these businesses is frankly the most un-American thing you could possibly do.
"There is a delight in the hardy life of the open," says President Theodore Roosevelt on the subject of public lands, "There are no words that can tell the hidden spirit of the wilderness that can reveal its mystery, its melancholy and its charm. The nation behaves well if it treats the natural resources as assets which it must turn over to the next generation increased and not impaired in value. Conservation means development as much as it does protection." And that second-to-last sentence, "Must turn over to the next generation increased and not impaired in value," is something I think about a lot as a dad.
These sell offs, threats of sell offs, budget cuts, and more are doing our children a diservice. They won't be able to witness the wild places we know and love, all because a select few want to be just a tad bit richer, or hate the idea of public lands. They won't have the off-road trails, the snowmobile access to the backcountry, the hunting and fishing grounds, or ability to camp beneath the stars. They won't have what we do, and all because of a few folks who won't stop their attacks on our public lands.
That's insane.
But again, just look at the economics of public lands. Look at the jobs it supports. Look at the revenue that we as Americans derive from it. Look at the industries it supports and keeps in business. If all the cultural issues don't matter to you, just look at the cold hard dollars we get from these places, and how little we'd see in return if they're to be sold off.
If that's the case, the answer is simple: Keep public lands public.
