Reports & Data

Sportsmen's Economic Impact Report

As the nation continues to pull itself out of the economic downturn, stories of particularly strong markets and avid consumers is a resonating theme. Promoting the relevance of the outdoor industry is more important than ever as sportsmen and women depend on having places to hunt fish and shoot while the communities that provide these services thrive due to their support of sportsmen and women. In 2012, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released the most thorough economic and participation research results for our outdoor industry, data that is only gathered every five years. In addition, 2012 marks the 75th anniversary of the incredibly successful Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration (WSFR) programs – a key element of the user pays-public benefits structure of the American System of Conservation Funding, through which hunters, recreational anglers and shooters and trappers provide the vast majority of funding for state fish and wildlife agencies.

The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) turns this national and state-specific economic data into a compelling, full color report to publicize the information and promote the importance of sportsmen and women within the nation’s broader economy and to the conservation of our natural resources.

Download the 2013 Sportsmen's Economic Impact Report. 

Download the 2012 Preliminary Data for the Sportsmen's Economic Impact Report (SEIR).

Download the 2006 Economic Impact Report.

Download the 2001 Economic Impact Report. 

On January 17, 2013, the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation (CSF) and the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) released two new reports documenting the importance of sportsmen's activities in America. NSSF's "Hunting in America: An Economic Force for Conservation"and CSF's "America's Sporting Heritage, Fueling the American Economy" reports provide detailed information about participation and expenditures by American sportsmen and women. The reports were released to the country's top outdoor writers and industry professionals during the Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show (SHOT Show) in Las Vegas.

The Sportsman's Voice: Hunting and Fishing in America

(By clicking on the above link, you will be able to purchase a copy of “The Sportsmen’s Voice: Hunting and Fishing in America.” Thank you for your interest.)

Nearly 34 million Americans ages 16 and older head outdoors to hunt and fish every year. Through hunting and fishing license fees and excise taxes on hunting and fishing equipment, hunters and anglers are responsible for the majority of fish and wildlife conservation funding in the United States.

Fish and wildlife management programs funded by these fees have conserved millions of acres of habitat and have brought back many species, including wild turkey, wood duck, bald eagle, and pronghorn antelope, from unhealthy population levels.

Understanding hunting and fishing, and hunters and anglers as a constituency, is vital to effectively managing the nation’s natural resources. Policy makers, legislators, fish and wildlife professionals, conservation organizations, and hunters and anglers themselves have an unmet need for science-based, comprehensive information on hunting and fishing to inform their understanding, communications, decision making, and planning.

The Sportsman’s Voice: Hunting and Fishing in America is the first book that provides a comprehensive, up-to-date look at hunting and fishing in America. It bridges the gap between hundreds of scientific studies of the human dimensions of conservation and on-the-ground situations, giving this information meaningful context and real-world utility.