Economic Benefits
Dam removal has many economic benefits, including the expanded opportunity for recreational activity.
Check out this StoryMap created by American Rivers to show the economic value in investing in river restoration:
Earth Economics published a 2020 update economic analysis of Washington State Outdoor Recreation.
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"Building off an analysis conducted in 2015, this report estimates that outdoor recreation in Washington supports $26.5 Billion in annual expenditures.
This spending goes on to support 264,000 jobs throughout Washington.
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This means that for every $1 million spent on outdoor recreation, 10 jobs are supported.
Outdoor recreation is such a strong job supporter in Washington that 1 in 17 or 6 percent of all jobs in Washington are tied to spending on outdoor recreation."