Economic impacts of waterfowl hunting on public lands and at private lodges in the Mississippi Delta

Expenditures by waterfowl hunters represent an influx of money to an econom y from a natural resource-related activity. Studies have been conducted on expenditures by hunters of waterfowl and migratory birds, but none have col lected and analyzed data on regional economic impacts in Mississippi. Conse quently, we conducted a survey to collect waterfowl hunter expenditure data in the Delta of Mississippi during the 1998-1999 waterfowl hunting season. This study presents a survey technique and analysis to determine extent an d economic impacts of waterfowl hunting on public lands and at private lodg es in the Delta of Mississippi. We surveyed hunters at wildlife management areas, national wildlife refuges, and private lodges within the 6-county st udy region. Our response rate was 97%. Economic impacts generated from wate rfowl hunting expenditures totaled $719,016 for the 1998-99 waterfowl hunti ng season. If expenditures in our study region reflected those statewide, w e estimate that the total economic impact of waterfowl hunting would be $27 .4 million. This estimate is conservative because it does not include expen ditures related to private-land hunting for waterfowl (e.g., lease fees).