Campground Workgroup Items 02/2021

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• WISCONSIN 1111 POLICY FORUM TAKE IT OUTSIDE Pandemic Spurs Outdoor Pursuits When the pandemic sent unemployment skyrocketing and shut down bars, movies, and concerts, Wisconsinites found an outlet in the outdoors. Parks visits, sporting goods sales, and fishing licenses all shot upward, with the latter seeing first-time purchases surge. The extent to which this trend will continue is unknown, but local and state officials may wish to consider it as they set state spending for the next two years on parks, other public lands, and the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship land purchase program. From a hike in state parks to a first-time deer hunt, program that funds purchases of public lands and state and local data in Wisconsin show an improvements on them. exceptional increase in outdoor pursuits during the crisis months of COVID-19. Though budgets are strained,the past year has demonstrated the value of public lands in the state, With unemployment for a time at its highest levels since which benefit the health of the state's residents and the Great Depression and other leisure activities often environment and boost its battered tourism sector.The curtailed, pastimes like biking,fishing, birdwatching, or U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis has reported that just sunbathing were among the few options that could outdoor recreation contributed $7.7 billion to be practiced while maintaining social distance.Though Wisconsin's gross domestic product in 2019 - 20th in perhaps not unexpected, the magnitude of the shift the nation and 2.2%of the state's total GDP. remains striking. DEMAND GROWS FOR FISHING AND Much of this upsurge may dissipate as soon as regular HUNTING employment and entertainment can be pursued.Still, some of the increase could prove durable enough to After years of modest but steady decreases in fishing help boost visitor fee revenues for the state parks license sales, Wisconsin saw a substantial jump in the system,which has struggled after the elimination of its 2020 fishing season,according to data from the state tax funding in the 2015-17 state budget; as well as Department of Natural Resources (DNR). From March 1, conservation funding coming from hunting and fishing 2020 through Jan. 31, 2021, the state sold 1.14 million license fees, which have been declining in recent years. fishing licenses to state residents - a 13.2% increase over 1.01 million for the same months a year earlier At the same time, state and local officials may also want and the highest in at least five years (see Figure 1). to give thought to whether spending levels on parks, In addition, licenses sold to anglers from outside public lands, boat ramps, and other green space are adequate to handle the high demand. Perhaps most Wisconsin were up 6.1%during the same months of the prominently, lawmakers must decide in the coming pandemic over the prior year. The extra stamps sold for months whether to renew the state's Stewardship trout and salmon fishing in the Great Lakes and for trout in other inland waters were up 16.6%and 20.4% We thank Gathering Waters:Wisconsin's respectively. In each case,the 2020 sales represented Alliance for Land Trusts,the Departments of the highest total in at least five years. Natural Resources and Revenue,and the Legislative Fiscal Bureau for providing or Most striking were sales of first-time annual fishing publishing data that was used in this report. licenses, which offer a reduced price for anglers (just $5 ® t 1 THE WISCONSIN TAXPAYER I FEBRUARY 2021