Economic Benefit of Pictured Rocks NL

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Date: December 10, 2008
Contact: Jim Northup, 906-387-2607. ext. 202

Visitors rest on the bench overlooking Munising Falls.
Visitors taking a break at Munising Falls

NPS photos

A recently updated National Park Service study estimates that the economic benefit of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore for the local community is over $20 million annually, and reports that the combination of visitor spending and NPS payrolls supports a total of 449 jobs in our local community.

The report, entitled "National Park Visitor Spending and Payroll Impacts, 2007" was authored by Daniel J. Stynes from Michigan State University, working on behalf of the National Park Service Social Science Program. Using a formula known as the Money Generation Model, it calculates the economic benefit of every unit of the U.S. National Park System. For the purposes of the study, "local area" is defined as within 50 miles of the park. There were a total of 441,521 visitors to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in 2007.

"In my mind, parks are priceless," Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Superintendent Jim Northup said. "As Americans, I hope we value our parks not only for their economic value but more so for what they represent as part of our heritage, for preserving the best of what America has to offer for future generations, and for opportunities to learn, have fun, find inspiration, physical challenge and even spiritual renewal."

"However, particularly in these difficult economic times, a study like this serves as an important reminder that individual units of the national park system, as well as National Forests and Wildlife Refuges, have tremendous economic benefit to local communities," Northup added. "We are proud to be an important component of what makes the Upper Peninsula such a special place to visit, and hope the community appreciates the park's value as well. This study did not include money we spend for a variety of contracts for special projects each year. When you add that in, the benefit to the local community and to employment is even greater."

"The park staff and I will continue to do everything we can to continue to make Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore an attractive and wonderful place to visit, and look forward to continuing our work with the gateway communities, our partner organizations and other citizens to promote nature based and heritage education tourism to our area" Northup concluded.

The full NPS study is available at https://www.nature.nps.gov/socialscience/pdf/MGM2_CY07.pdf



Last updated: April 10, 2015

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P.O. Box 40
Munising, MI 49862

Phone:

906-387-3700
Munising Falls Visitor Center

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