Land managed by the U.S. Department of Interior in Colorado supported 13,216 recreational jobs statewide and contributed $1.3 billion in economic output in fiscal year 2010, the agency said today.
Approximately 9,000 of those jobs were located in rural Colorado, ranking Colorado the fourth highest state benefitting from rural jobs supported by interior recreation programs and services, according to the report issued by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar.
The report said that there were 15.4 million visits in 2010 to Department of Interior recreation sites in Colorado.
Recreational visits to Interior-managed lands resulted in economic activity exceeding $1 billion in six other states and the District of Columbia. The other states are Utah, Wyoming, Arizona, California, Florida, and Oregon.
The report gave localized examples of the impact on rural locations, using as an example the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve in south central Colorado.
The report noted that Great Sand Dunes is adjacent to the rural counties of Alamosa, Custer, Huerfano, and Saguache, with a combined labor force of 17,540 and average unemployment of 8 percent. The population of the four counties is 34,000.
In 2009, said the report, Great Sand Dunes attracted nearly 290,000 visitors. Visitors from out of town spent an estimated $9.5 million which supported 137 local jobs. The monument also directly employs 32 people, which contributed $2.5 million to the local economy and supported an additional six local jobs.
“Great Sand Dunes is illustrative of Interior’s impact on a small rural community,” said the report. “Though the area population is only 34,000, Interior lands provided an important source of jobs and revenue.”
In addition, the agency said that in 2010 it supported 32,105 jobs from energy and mineral exploitation on Interior-managed lands in Colorado.
The report also said that Interior made payments and grants to states and counties. In 2010, these grants and payments were estimated to support 2,800 jobs in Colorado, 15,000 jobs in Wyoming and 3,300 jobs in Utah.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com.
