Recently, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke released the Department’s Economic Report for fiscal year 2017, which shows that for the first time in several years, economic growth and jobs supported by federal lands both increased.

According to the report, in the Trump Administration’s first year, the economic output of Interior’s federal lands and resources increased by $400 million to $292 billion and the number of jobs supported increased by 230,000 to 1.8 million jobs. The gains are the result of regulatory reform, changes to land uses and access, infrastructure projects, and other factors.

National parks, refuges, and other public lands managed by Interior hosted an estimated 483 million recreational visits in FY 2017—up from 473 million in FY 2016. These visits supported an estimated $52 billion in economic output and an estimated 418,000 jobs nationwide.

Additionally, Secretary Zinke increased deferred maintenance dollars and approved $256 million in funding to rebuild critical national park infrastructure supporting both construction jobs and higher visitation. The NPS completed over $650 million in maintenance and repair work in fiscal year 2017.

The economic impact of Interior’s public lands under President Trump and Secretary Zinke is expected to show increases in FY2018 as well due to expanded access to federal lands, regulatory reform, increased energy production, and more projects being approved for development.

If you have questions, please contact MRAA Public Policy Manager, Will Higgins.