The scope of this project is to conduct a comprehensive economic impact study of outdoor recreation in Minnesota. The study will quantify the economic contributions of outdoor recreation activities, including consumer spending, job creation, and wage generation. It will cover a wide range of outdoor recreation opportunities such as hiking, camping, biking, picnicking, hunting, and water sports. The analysis will distinguish between the economic impacts of local recreation (Minnesotans traveling fewer than 50 miles) and visitor recreation (Minnesotans traveling 50 or more miles and out-of-state visitors). The study will provide results at various geographical levels, including county, legislative district, and tourism region, as well as activity-specific estimates at the state level. The project aims to develop a reliable and scalable framework for monitoring outdoor recreation participation and spending, which can be shared across land management agencies to standardize data collection, fill data gaps, and facilitate comparisons of economic estimates across jurisdictions and agency lines. While the study will focus on the economic contributions of outdoor recreation, it will acknowledge the additional benefits not quantified in the report, such as consumer surplus, health benefits, and environmental benefits.
