National wildlife refuges enrich people in a great variety of ways. In today's increasingly complex society, it is important to be able to discover and clearly express the economic value of things, even such things as human experiences that benefit society as a whole. This report focuses on final demand, employment, income and tax revenue effects recreational visitors to refuges have on the economies of local regions. In addition to the economic effects of refuge hunting and fishing programs in local communities, it measures the economic impact of "ecotourism," the relatively recent phenomenon of 1arge numbers of people traveling substantial distances to take part in non-consumptive uses of the natural environment.

This report focuses on the income and employment effects recreational visitors to refuges have on the economies of local regions. It also details the economic impact of "ecotourism," the relatively recent phenomenon of large numbers of people traveling substantial distances to take part in non-consumptive uses of the natural environment. This report has four main sections. An Introduction details the study's overall rationale, outlines its economic concepts, and describes the methods and data sources used. The second section presents 15 sample refuge descriptions, highlighting the recreational activities enjoyed at each refuge, analyzing the regional economic factors involved, and putting the results of this analysis into perspective. A National View section discusses the overall results for the sample refuges and extrapolates them to a nationwide estimate. Finally, appendices provide background detail on the economic models used for the refuge estimates and the nationwide aggregation.