Places To Play | 12 The National Park Service estimates $32 million would be lost per day if budget cuts shut down the parks. Outdoor recreation can continue to be a jobs generator and economic driver. Recreation visits to Department of Interiormanaged lands result in over 316,000 jobs and nearly $25 billion in economic impacts to the communities and regions surrounding Interiormanaged land.1 Nearly 35 million people visit national wildlife refuges, supporting almost 27,000 private sector jobs and producing about $543 million in employment income.2 Between 1970 and 2009, rural western counties with more than 30 percent of their land under federal protection increased jobs at a rate four times faster than rural counties with no federally protected lands.3 1 Department of the Interior, Economic Impact of the Department of the Interior’s Programs and Activities, 2008, http://www.doi. gov/news/pressreleases/2010_02_23_release.cfm 2 National Wildlife Refuge System, Banking on Nature 2006: The Economic Benefits to Local Communities of National Wildlife Refuge Visitation 3 Headwaters Economics, 2012
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