Abstract
Kentucky’s Red River Gorge is a popular rock climbing destination located amid longstanding poverty in America’s Central Appalachian region. Climbing represents an important part of the outdoor recreation economy and may provide one alternative to mono-economic extractive industry dependency in this region. This study examines the economic impact of climbing in the Red utilizing an online survey of rock climbers and economic impact methodology. The survey examines expenditures in lodging, food purchases, travel, retail purchases, and services. The survey also collected visitation and demographics data. The authors estimate climbers spend $8.7 million annually (up from $3.8 million in 2015) and support over 100 jobs in some of the poorest counties in the region and nation. The study reiterates previous findings indicating climbers are well-educated with incomes higher than those typically found in this region. The study’s results help reframe the value of climbing’s economic impact in rural transitional economies throughout Central Appalachia. These findings also raise policy implications regarding public land access and reducing climber environmental impacts on public lands.
Highlights
Kentucky’s Red River Gorge ( “the Red”) is a popular outdoor recreation destination located in the Daniel Boone National Forest (DBNF)
Outdoor recreation economic expenditures represent a thriving sector of the United States economy and may offer eastern Kentucky and Central Appalachia a new form of sustainable economic growth amid the decline of extractive industries (Maples et al, 2019; Maples, 2021)
The results of this study provide an exciting opportunity to explore economic and social changes in outdoor recreation areas over a relatively short period, as well as exemplify how more precise visitation estimates and specific expenditure categories create a clearer estimate of economic expenditures
Summary
Kentucky’s Red River Gorge ( “the Red”) is a popular outdoor recreation destination located in the Daniel Boone National Forest (DBNF). A 2015 study (published in 2017) conservatively estimated climbers spent $3.8 million per year amid eastern Kentucky’s transitional economy while challenging how residents imagined climbers (Maples et al, 2017). Outdoor recreation economic expenditures represent a thriving sector of the United States economy and may offer eastern Kentucky and Central Appalachia a new form of sustainable economic growth amid the decline of extractive industries (Maples et al, 2019; Maples, 2021). Outdoor recreation jobs are gradually outpacing extractive industries, such as coal, in Central Appalachia (Maples et al, 2019). As such, increased outdoor recreation use in Central Appalachia may offer a far less damaging economic opportunity as the region grapples with deindustrialization and transitioning away from monoeconomic dependency. Whereas extraction often created lasting environmental impacts, outdoor recreation users ( climbers) are utilizing education programs designed to limit their environmental impacts (Sharp et al, 2020; Clark et al, 2020)
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