Hunting alone was worth $683,000,000 in South Dakota last year.
The state of South Dakota has a rich hunting history. Like many states, a large portion of the South Dakota's economy is driven by the outdoor industry. South Dakota is a state that not only allows the hunting of its state bird, the ringneck pheasant, it actually encourages it.
The Game, Fish, and Parks department of South Dakota studied the economic impact of the outdoor industry in 2016. Numbers were impressive.
According to the report, residents and non-residents spent a combined 18.6 million days participating in outdoor recreation. That list includes hunting, fishing, hiking, trapping, and boating.
"Collectively anglers, hunters, trappers, wildlife viewers, boaters, state park visitors, and snowmobilers spend $1.3 Billion in the state annually."
The top three contributors to that list include hunting, fishing, and state park visitation. Hunters carried the brunt of the load adding over $683,000,000 to the state's bottom line. Also impressive, fishing added $271,000,000 while the state parks brought in $212,000,000.
All of this outdoor recreation helped the state support over 18,000 jobs. These jobs contribute $520,000,000 to worker income. Also, it contributes over $970,000,000 to the state's GDP.
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