MADISON — The Wisconsin Office of Outdoor Recreation today released the first reports from the Do-It-Yourself Economic Impact Report program — a pilot to assist outdoor industry stakeholders in identifying the local value of outdoor recreation — which detail millions of dollars in economic activity generated by visitation to outdoor destinations across Wisconsin.
The five reports found visitors and residents collectively contribute $27.3 million to local economies when they visit and use the City of Eau Claire’s paved trail system, Dodge County Parks and Horicon Marsh Education and Visitor Center, the Cheese Country Trails in Lafayette County, Nine Mile County Forest in Marathon County and WinMan Trails in Vilas County. The jointly produced reports are the outcome of the DIY Economic Impact Report program, an innovative pilot the Office of Outdoor Recreation created last year to help local governments and nonprofits produce reports that capture the economic contributions of outdoor recreation in their area.
“We know the outdoor recreation industry as a whole is big business in Wisconsin, but it can be challenging for those who manage outdoor spaces to determine the economic benefits for their communities,” said Office of Outdoor Recreation Director Cassie Mordini. “The DIY Economic Impact Report program removes barriers and provides a means for partners to uncover the powerful value of outdoor recreation locally.”
The Office, which is part of the Wisconsin Department of Tourism, launched the DIY Economic Impact Report program in March 2024 as a resource for stakeholders who often struggle to navigate the complicated and costly process of analyzing and localizing the economic benefits of outdoor recreation. With support from the Office and an economic development consultant, five teams of participants, consisting of local and county governments, tourism bureaus and a nonprofit, completed the program and produced economic impact reports over the course of nine months.
“This program underscores that the value of outdoor recreation extends well beyond the cost of a trail pass or a camping permit — it spreads throughout an entire community,” said Wisconsin Department of Tourism Secretary Anne Sayers. “Outdoor recreation visitation generates more diners for area restaurants, more rooms filled at hotels, more trail mix purchased from the local grocery store and more dollars circulating in local economies, especially rural areas of Wisconsin.”
The Office partnered with The Harbinger Consultancy to provide technical assistance for the DIY Economic Impact Report program. The five teams were selected through a competitive application process and participated in a series of workshops to kick off the program. The teams then examined existing data, performed additional surveys and research and analyzed the results to produce estimates on the value of the five outdoor destinations being studied. The reports found the local economic contributions for the following outdoor recreation destinations:
● City of Eau Claire paved trail system: $4.1 million
● Dodge County Parks/Horicon Marsh Education and Visitor Center: $8.4 million
● Lafayette County’s Cheese Country Trails: $7.2 million
● Marathon County’s Nine Mile County Forest: $3.3 million
● WinMan Trails: $4.3 million
Some teams, depending on available data, were also able to calculate the estimated jobs supported by outdoor recreation activity, as well as the local and state taxes the activity generated.
“With this information in hand, we’re able to show what many communities intrinsically know: Wisconsin’s diversity of outdoor recreation activities drives local economic impact and helps create vibrant, thriving communities across the state,” Mordini said.
As a resource for the Wisconsin outdoor recreation industry, the Office is making available “Conducting Visitor and Recreational User Research to Tell an Economic Impact Story: A Do-It-Yourself Guide.” The special publication empowers stakeholders with the knowledge and step-by-step instructions to conduct their own research to understand the localized economic contributions of outdoor recreation, while federal data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) underscores its importance statewide. According to the BEA, the Wisconsin outdoor recreation industry contributed a record-breaking $11.2 billion to the state’s gross domestic product in 2023.
The Office of Outdoor Recreation would like to thank the following teams for participating in the DIY Economic Impact Report program: City of Eau Claire and Visit Eau Claire; Dodge County; Lafayette County; Wausau & Marathon County Parks, Recreation & Forestry, Village of Rib Mountain and Visit Wausau; and WinMan Trails.