New York’s Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) supports industries that generate approximately $40 billion annually for the state’s economy while sustaining hundreds of thousands of jobs, according to an report released last week by The Trust for Public Land, a national conservation group.
“The findings… show that the stronger the EPF is, the more local economies benefit,” said Jessica Sargent-Michaud, an economist for The Trust.
“As we conduct these studies around the nation, we are finding, time and time again, that investments in land conservation, urban development, and environmental infrastructure, yield returns that sustain and stimulate local and regional economies,” she said.According to the report, every $1 invested to protect lands under EPF results in $7 in economic benefit to New York through natural goods, and services such as filtering air and water of pollutants, and flood control.
The EPF also invests in local parks, recreation, and historic preservation.
Supported industries include outdoor recreation, tourism, and forest products.
According to the report, the New York State Park System, which receives significant support from the EPF, generates $1.9 billion in visitor spending—five times more than associated management and operations costs.
Also, EPF-supported industries sustain hundreds of thousands of jobs, including 130,000 related to outdoor recreation activity, and 38,000 in forest-related manufacturing and logging.
The study also concludes that EPF-protected lands in New York attract millions of visitors annually who participate in fishing, hunting, or wildlife watching, which generates more than $3 billion in annual sales.
In 2010 and 2011, total EPF funding was $134 million—one-tenth of one percent of total state spending.
The full report can be seen at tpl.org/new-york.
