Economic Impacts of Parks, Rivers, Trails and Greenways

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The Marin Conservation Corps (MCC) provides job training to Corpsmembersby working on projects that help to preserve the environment in Marin County,California. For the Cataract Trail project, a five-year effort, teams rebuilt theupper section of this historic trail while learning trail construction/restoration,erosion control, rough carpentry and safe heavy material handling techniques.MCC works on a variety of types of trails, including those for bicycles, horses,pedestrians, and persons with disabilities. The Corps also restores naturalhabitats, such as those within the Presidio of San Francisco. Not only does MCCmonitor the flora and fauna, plant native species, and remove non-natives, but italso leads volunteers in these efforts. On average, MCC performs about$200,000 worth of trail work for the community each year, and partners haveincluded Marin County Parks & Open Space District, Point Reyes NationalSeashore, the Bay Audubon Center and Sanctuary, Golden Gate NationalRecreation Area, and the Marin Municipal Water District.3.1.2 How to Use These Rationales in Your CommunityList specific park related expenditures. Determine all organizations and groups directlyinvolved in managing the park or trail area. List expenditures for their park-relatedactivities. Itemize annual expenditures by activity. Examples of expenditure categories are:planning, acquisition, development, operation, and maintenance. Include all annualexpenditures for personnel, supplies, and equipment. For each, estimate the percentage ofthese expenditures which are made within the local economy. Annual expenditures can becalculated either by calendar year or fiscal year. Calculate the total expenditures madewithin the local economy and the number of jobs provided. If your park or trail has not yetbeen created, go through the same process, but project future annual expenditures.Apportion other park-related expenditures. Some agency expenditures will be foradministration, personnel, supplies, and equipment that may be used only partially for thepark or trail being analyzed. If this is the case, estimate the percentage attributed to the parkbeing studied. If these are annual expenditures, figure the percentage of time staff orequipment that can be applied and apportion the expenditures accordingly. For heavyequipment, or other long-term investments, you need to calculate the annual cost of theinvestment. This is also termed “annualizing” and may include calculations fordepreciation. Ask accounting or finance specialists for the appropriate figures to convertlong-term expenditures to annual costs. Total the annual expenditures that can be attributedto the park or trail and add to the value calculated for the park-specific expenditures givenabove. This total is the direct impact of agency expenditures.Calculate park-related employment. Count the number of employees necessary tooperate the park or trail. The managing agency should be able to provide employmentfigures. Seasonal jobs should be converted to full-time/year-round equivalents. Forexample, three four-month seasonal positions can be counted as one full-time/year-roundposition. Many trails and greenways involve multiple managing agencies since the corridorspass through different political jurisdictions, and some parks use partner non-profits tosupplement agency staff. Be sure to add up the jobs and expenditures of all managingagencies and their respective suppliers and contractors. If possible, determine in which city13
or county employees reside. Divide the total number of employees into percentages basedon where they reside. Since employees typically spend most their paycheck in thecommunity they live in, this will give a good indication of which jurisdiction benefits frompark or trail related expenditures. Determine if employment contracts benefit particularneeds of the community’s population, such as youth conservation corps, or unemployedpersons in work training programs.Determine park-dependent businesses. Talk to businesses that receive agencyexpenditures. Determine what proportion these expenditures comprise of the businesses’total revenue. Keep this information on file and communicate results. Use a simple graphicformat such as pie-charts and bar-charts to show how expenditures and jobs are supportedby managing agencies, their suppliers, and contractors. You can also show the distributionof economic activity by jurisdiction.3.1.3 Sources of InformationPublic and non-profit agency budgets are a matter of public record: U.S. Censuso Average incomes for different occupations, by state:http://www.census.gov/econ/www/index.htmlo Federal, State, and Local Government data, including public employmentand payroll information: http://www.census.gov/govs/www/index.html Guidestaro A national database of non-profit organizations, which maintains annualinformation on total expenditures (program services, administration) as wellas salaries of officers, directors, trustees, key employees and contractors.Images of each organizations’ IRS Form 990 2 are available online:http://www.guidestar.orgBudget and Finance Specialists. Agency budget and finance specialists are the experts onwhat and where park expenditures are being made. These specialists might also be helpfulin case methodological questions arise.3.1.4 Considerations in Using These RationalesInterpretation of expenditure information. Do not assume that agency expenditures always inject extra income into the localeconomy. Consider whether the funding in question would have been used foranother purpose within the community in the absence of the park or trail. You may wish to give stronger emphasis to the other impacts of your project beforediscussing agency expenditures. This information might be used to show howexpensive the greenway will be. The bottom line, however, is that agencyexpenditures can help support local residents and businesses and should not beconsidered a drain on the local economy. This rationale is best for a project that has2 Form 990 is an information return that tax-exempt organizations with incomes of more than $25,000 mustfile annually with the Internal Revenue Service.14
Page 1: ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF PARKS, RIVERS,
Page 4 and 5: AcknowledgementsI am grateful to ma
Page 6 and 7: 3.5.5 Sources of Information.......
Page 8 and 9: Table 28. Hiking/Walking Organizati
Page 10 and 11: 1 IntroductionParks, rivers, trails
Page 12 and 13: Table 1.SectionAgency ExpendituresC
Page 14 and 15: provide communities with economic,
Page 16 and 17: the most current information on the
Page 18 and 19: 3.1 Agency ExpendituresThis section
Page 20 and 21: grants. About 25% of capital expend
Page 24 and 25: already been implemented and is ope
Page 26 and 27: Table 5.Net Benefit Per Participant
Page 28 and 29: WEST VIRGINIAWISCONSINEarthCorpsFed
Page 30 and 31: contracts that gross over $800 mill
Page 32 and 33: 3.2.2 Special EventsRevenue enhanci
Page 34 and 35: park experience to an audience who
Page 36 and 37: you have the opportunity to determi
Page 38 and 39: Use good survey methods. The better
Page 40 and 41: California. A Report to The Sierra
Page 42 and 43: powered activities 3 , a participan
Page 44 and 45: Table 11. 2003 Sport Footwear Purch
Page 46 and 47: 3.3.4 Fish and Wildlife-Related Rec
Page 48 and 49: EQUIPMENT AND OTHER EXPENSESTotal $
Page 50 and 51: Table 17. Estimates of Retail Expen
Page 52 and 53: Table 19. U.S. Ski & Snowboard Indu
Page 54 and 55: and from services related to the Pa
Page 56 and 57: o $60 million in Harris County, TX,
Page 58 and 59: League ofAmericanBicyclistsNational
Page 60 and 61: SportingGoodsManufacturersAssociati
Page 62 and 63: necessarily better, especially in s
Page 64 and 65: Perspective. Available at http://ww
Page 66 and 67: o Washington: $209 milliono West Vi
Page 68 and 69: Economic Output Retail Sales Salari
Page 70 and 71: Economic Output Retail Sales Salari
Page 72 and 73:
Table 35. Economic Impact of Sportf
Page 74 and 75:
All Anglers Non-Resident/Tourist An
Page 76 and 77:
Table 37. Per Capita Travel Receipt
Page 78 and 79:
their decision to return in the fut
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Table 39. Visitors and Spending in
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2003). Data from California Departm
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over 2003, despite high gas prices,
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management changes or actions are e
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accommodations used, and other trip
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http://www.ncdot.org/transit/bicycl
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3.5 Estimating the Effects of Spend
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“leakage” of money from the reg
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Keep in mind that multipliers are s
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3.5.4 How to Use These Rationales i
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economy, only those expenditures th
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For example, be aware of the differ
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3.6 Health Care and FitnessThis sec
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active, approximately $575 million
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already had one heart attacko Impro
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uilt as part of sound policy to pro
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accounting for 14 million disabilit
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park amenities available or do not
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National Coalitionfor PromotingPhys
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100% of all health benefits to a si
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Pratt M, Macera CA, Wang G. 2000. H
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costs than normal weight; moderate
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References for Additional Informati
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3.7 Benefit EstimationParks, rivers
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Table 47.Forecasted Average Benefit
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Table 48.CriteriaRecreationExperien
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people using carefully designed and
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special government funds for causes
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Loomis, J. B., and White, D.S. 1996
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Economic Assessment for the Necedah
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Commercial UsesExpenditures byResid
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Outcomes Expenditures by GGNRA mana
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local transportation admissions and
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3.8.8 Educational ValueWhile it may
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the same municipality that are furt
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that do require storm water managem
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Summary of ActionsSimilar to corpor
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3.9 Resource Book AppendicesSeveral
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6. Spending in the area. Please rep
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local economy aren’t bringing in
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4 ConclusionIn 1995, the National P
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Economic Impacts of Parks, Rivers, Trails and Greenways

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