1. Watchable wildlife recreation supports more jobs in-state than employed by Burdines or Florida Power & Light, two of Florida’s largest employers (source: Miami Herald,

Miami.com).

 

2. Wildlife watching, photography and feeding is enjoyed by 2.86 million Florida residents – nearly twenty percent more than the population of the Tampa/St. Petersburg/Clearwater metropolitan area (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Census Bureau).

 

3. One of every six Florida residents participates in some form of wildlife watching activities (16.4 million state residents in 2001 per U.S. Census Bureau, and 2.86 million wildlife watching participants residing in FL).

 

4. Florida ranks as the fourth highest state (after California, New York and Pennsylvania ,tied with Texas) in the number of people participating in watchable-wildlife recreation (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2001 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation).

 

5. With 490,000 visitors per year, more people travel to Florida to view wildlife than any other state, and 22 percent more than the second-place state, Oregon (source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2001 National
Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation).

 

6. In 2001, all state residents who participated in Florida’s watchable wildlife recreation could fill FSU’s Doak Campbell Stadium nearly 41 times and UF’s Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at Florida Field nearly 39 times (source: ballparks.com, stadium capacities = 80,000 and 84,000 respectively).

 

7. In 2001, state residents who participated in Florida’s watchable wildlife recreation could fill:

a. Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium over 43 times,

b. Miami’s Pro Player Stadium over 38 times, and

c. Jacksonville’s Alltel Stadium over 39 times.

(source: ballparks.com, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2001 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation).

 

8. In 2001, out-of-state visitors to Florida equaled the population of Wyoming, bringing $402 million into the state economy (source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2001 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation; U.S. Census Bureau; 490,000 non-residents viewing wildlife in 2001 and 494,000 residents in Wyoming).

 

9. The number of people participating in watchable wildlife recreation in Florida approximates the population of Connecticut (source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Census Bureau, 3.24 million watchable wildlife participants in Florida (residents and non-residents) compared to 3.425 million residents of Connecticut).

 

10. Approximately the same number of people participated in watchable wildlife recreation in Florida than voted for either candidate in the 2000 presidential election (2.86 million residents participated in watchable wildlife recreation, 2.913 million people voted for Bush and 2.912 million voted for Gore; source: U.S. Federal Elections Commission).

 

11. The annual sales tax revenues generated from wildlife watching activities in Florida could pay the yearly tuition for up to 34,300 state residents to the University of Florida and Florida State University (based on 2001 data, $79.6 million state tax revenues, average annual tuition to UF and FSU reported by Information Please Almanac to be $2,318).

 

12. The amount spent on wildlife watching in Florida in 2001 was five times larger than the tolls collected by the Florida Turnpike System (Based on Option #1 expenditures, $1.575 billionversus $311 million; source: Florida Dept of Transportation).

 

13. If the jobs supported by wildlife watching expenditures were to disappear, the state unemployment rate would jump from 5.3 percent to 5.7 percent (as of September, 2002; data source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, based on Option #1 expenditures).

 

14. The total jobs supported by Florida wildlife watchers is greater than the unemployed workforce in the Jacksonville metropolitan area (26,000 unemployed as of September, 2001; 28,427 employed in state by wildlife watchers’ dollars; data source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).

 

15. The total spent annually in Florida for watchable wildlife recreation is twice as much as the value of the state’s annual orange crop harvest ($786 million in 2001, per the USDA Economic Research Service; $1.575 billion spent on watchable wildlife recreation, source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2001 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation, based on Option #1 expenditures).

 

16. The total spent annually in Florida for watchable wildlife recreation is slightly larger than the value of "nursery and greenhouse" products – the State’s largest agricultural commodity ($1.518 billion in 2001 compared to $1.575 billion spent on watchable wildlife recreation; sources: USDA Economic Research Service (2001) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2001 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation, based on Option #1 expenditures).

 

17. Watchable wildlife recreation in Florida generates enough jobs to employ the residents of Key West, or Fort Walton Beach (data source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, http://eire.census.gov, based on Option #1 expenditures).

 

18. The economic activity generated in Florida by wildlife viewing activities is greater than the gross national product of Sierra Leone (data source: CIA 2000 World Factbook and the U.S. Census Bureau, as reported in the 2002 Information Please Alamanac).

 

19. Wildlife viewing-related expenditures in Florida are greater than all sales of camping equipment nationally, and half as large as all sales of golf equipment nationally (source:National Sporting Goods Association and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; $1.575 billion for watchable wildlife in Florida based on Option #1, and $1.37 billion for camping equipment and $3.874 billion for golf equipment).

 

20. In 2001, up to five times more was spent in Florida for watchable wildlife recreation than spent at box offices nationally for "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone" – the top grossing film in the U.S. in 2001 ($1.575 billion million (Option #1) v. $318 million total box office receipts; data source: The Movie Times).

 

21. The total state tax revenues produced by watchable wildlife recreation is enough to purchase up to 106,000 personal computers, internet-ready, for public schools (source: Dell online, education price of $745 each, as advertised December, 2002).

 

22. The federal income tax revenues generated by Florida watchable wildlife recreation is enough to pay the annual wages for up to 6,770 U.S. Army troops (source: Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, January 2002 pay rate of $1,443.60 per month for enlisted level E-4).

 

23. The state sales tax revenue generated by watchable wildlife activity in Florida could fund the annual salaries for up to 2,200 more teachers (source: National Center for Education

Statistics).