For Fair Use and Educational purposes
[URL="http://dcboothfishhatchery.org/save-the-hatchery-from-closure[/URL]
(August 20, 2013—SPEARFISH, S.D.) D.C. Booth Historic National Fish Hatchery (NFH) has been a landmark in Spearfish since 1896. D.C. Booth Historic NFH currently propagates trout for the Black Hills through a cooperative effort with the State of South Dakota; serves as a American fisheries archive to protect and preserve fisheries records and artifacts for educational, research, and historic purposes; provides interpretive and educational programs for the public; and is a cultural treasure located on the National Historic Register.
For numerous years the National Fish Hatchery System, a branch of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, has struggled with declining funding and annual increases in the costs of doing business (utilities, fuel costs, supplies, etc.). The actual impacts are even greater when you take into account the significant budget challenges resulting from across the board cuts mandated by sequestration.
In addition to these ongoing financial issues, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Directorate in Washington D.C. have emphasized and prioritized other programs over those of the National Fisheries Program. As a result, the agency has made the decision to permanently shut down multiple fish hatcheries nationwide, including the D.C. Booth Historic National Fish Hatchery. This closure is expected to be effective October 1, 2013.
The Booth Society, Inc., the citizen-based nonprofit friends group of D.C. Booth NFH, has committed itself to advocating for keeping D.C. Booth Historic NFH open as a U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service hatchery, as it is today.
The Booth Society is against wasteful spending and supports a fiscally sound government. However, the national fisheries program and a facility like D.C. Booth are excellent examples of good government spending. They provide an economic impact that the public should be proud of. For example a 2011 economic impact study indicates that:
• Each taxpayer dollar budgeted for the National Fisheries Program generates $28 in economic returns ($28 : $1). The revenue generated can be seen at sporting goods stores, marinas, boat dealerships, guides and outfitter services, bait shops, gas stations, restaurants, and hotels.
• 68,000 American jobs are attributable to the economic contribution of the National Fisheries Program.
• The National Fisheries Program contributes $3.6 billion in annual contributions to the U.S. economy. That equates to $70 million a week or $10 million a day. In fact, a company with $3.6 billion in annual profits would rank No. 41 on the Fortune 500 List of America’s Most Profitable Corporations – behind Verizon but in front of Kraft Foods.
• $903 million in industrial output results from angling for fish originating in National Fish Hatcheries.
On the local level, a 2007 economic impact study on D.C. Booth Historic NFH conducted by Black Hills State University revealed:
• The operations at D.C. Booth Historic National Fish Hatchery results in $2.1 million dollars in annual business revenues.
• An estimated $1 million is spent by nonresident visitors in Spearfish each year who attributed their visit ONLY to the existence of the hatchery.
• $141,393 in local and state tax and fee revenues are collected indirectly from the visitation at D.C. Booth.
• Nearly 30 jobs are created locally as a result of the operations at D.C. Booth.
• Over 14,000 volunteer hours are donated annually to D.C. Booth. This is equivalent to seven full-time employees.
To learn more about the economic impact of the Hatchery on the Spearfish economy, go to http://dcboothfishhatchery.org/pdfs/...udy_Report.pdf
To learn more about the impact of fisheries on the U.S. economy to to http://dcboothfishhatchery.org/pdfs/...Value_2011.pdf
This message is through the Booth Society, Inc., the official nonprofit friends group of D.C. Booth Historic Fish Hatchery. Its content does not necessarily represent the official views of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.