National parks help economy

A new National Park Service report shows that 1.85 million visitors in 2011 spent almost $98 million in Glacier National Park and in communities near the park. That spending supported 1,386 jobs in the local area.

The peer-reviewed visitor spending analysis was conducted by Yue Cui, Ed Mahoney, and Teresa Herbowicz of Michigan State University for the National Park Service. The report shows $13 billion of direct spending by 279 million national park visitors. The spending occurred in communities within 60 miles of a national park and supported 252,000 jobs, most of which are also in the communities near national parks. The visitor spending had a $30 billion impact on the entire U.S. economy.

“Glacier National Park has historically been an economic driver in the state and region,” Acting Glacier National Park Superintendent Kym Hall said. “This report shows the positive economic impact that Glacier and other national park service sites have on our local and national economy.”

According to the report, 63 percent of visitor spending supports jobs in lodging, food, and beverage service followed by 17 percent toward recreation and entertainment, 11 percent for other retail, 7 percent for transportation and fuel, and 2 percent for wholesale and manufacturing.

The report includes information for visitor spending at individual parks and by state. Montana National Park Service sites included in the report are: Glacier National Park, Big Hole National Battlefield, Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site, Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument and Yellowstone National Park.