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Article in Today's Dispatch
Ohio hunters, anglers spend $1.9 billion
By Dave Golowenski FOR THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
When Brian Flechsig began operating Mad River Outfitters in 1994, doubters told him central Ohio wasn’t the place to put a fly-fishing shop. The doubters were wrong.
"I couldn’t have picked any place better to be than where I am," said Flechsig, whose well-stocked store on Bethel Road on the Northwest Side today employs 10 and whose Web site gives him an international customer reach. "We’re centrally located and within six hours of some of the best fly-fishing opportunities in the United States."
Flechsig and his staff regularly guide groups to exotic fishing holes throughout the hemisphere. Still, abundant opportunities to cast a fly in Ohio for Mad River trout, pond and stream bass, or Lake Erie steelhead account for a large portion of his business.
"It’s a great place to be," he said.
A national report circulated Wednesday supports Flechsig’s judgment.
Calling Ohio’s 1.5 million hunters and anglers "among the most prominent and influential of all demographic groups," the report says these outdoor enthusiasts spend more than $1.9 billion a year on hunting and fishing. That dollar outlay puts Ohio ninth among the 50 states.
The report was issued by the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, an advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., that seeks to inform lawmakers and other governmental decisionmakers about the impacts of hunting and fishing.
"Hunting and fishing represent much more than an outdoor tradition," foundation spokeswoman Melinda Gable said. "These activities generate real economic value to the states and to communities."
While Ohio stands eighth in population, the state ranks fourth in the number of hunting and fishing participants age 16 and older, with 1.14 million anglers and 467,000 hunters.
A total of 33,000 Ohio jobs — 19,000 related to fishing and about 14,000 to hunting — are linked to sportsmen’s pursuits, the report says. The workers earn about $934 million annually. The report’s job and payroll numbers are derived from surveys conducted and data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Dave Graham, chief of the Ohio Division of Wildlife, said although he is happy to see reports beginning to draw public attention to the economic value of hunting, fishing and wildlife viewing, such findings have long been known among wildlife agencies.
Ohio, which is resource rich with Lake Erie and an abundant and healthy deer population, is one of the few states that in recent years has shown an increase in hunting and fishing participation, Graham said.
Outdoor activities have become "a significant economic driver in the state," particularly in some areas where manufacturing has eroded, he said.
"The average angler and the average hunter will spend well over $1,000 a year just on equipment," Graham said.
Direct damage, medical costs, insurance premiums...