News: National Parks Provide $31 Billion and 258,000 Jobs To Local Economies

UPDATED BELOW

The National Park Service has a released a report showing that in 2010, US National Parks added $31 billion to local economies and supported about 258,000 jobs nationwide.

National, State and even local parks all provide direct economic benefits to the communities that they are in.  Two examples are visitors to the park spending money in local communities and businesses developing in communities to support park operations and visitors.

For more information:

So the next time you hear someone tell you that parks don't provide any benefits to local communities, point out all the economic benefits that these parks bring to their home communities and regions and challenge the common misperception that parks do not provide/hurt local economies.

2011 UPDATE

The Department of Interior has released a new report for 2011 that shows the 435 million recreational visits to Interior-managed lands in 2011 supported about 403,000 jobs nationwide and contributed nearly $48.7 billion in economic activity.

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