A recent study out of the University of Alaska Fairbanks shows that birders could be a boon for the economy and for conservation efforts — especially in rural and remote areas.
Out-of-town Birder Lynn Hartmann and Audubon intern Mali Tamone listen for bird calls on Rainforest Trail with the Audubon Society on July 15, 2022 in Juneau.
The couple is in town for a week, staying at a bed and breakfast. They’ve been to the Mendenhall Glacier to see Arctic terns, took a whale-watching tour for more seabirds, and now they’re on a guided walk through the temperate coastal rainforest with the Audubon Society. Birders are the world’s largest group of eco-tourists. And according to the new study, they’re a real moneymaker in Alaska — and the state has only begun to cash in.
The more than 300,000 birders a year that visit Alaska generate more than 3,000 jobs in the state, according to the study. Schwoerer likened the jobs figure to the total number of Alaskans employed by other single industries, like telecommunications.They’re coming because Alaska is home to the world’s largest concentration of shore birds, and it’s a globally significant breeding ground for migratory birds.
Brenda Wright leads a group of birders to the beach to look for flora and fauna at the end of the Rainforest Trail. She said birders are motivated to get out where the birds are — places like the North Slope to see eider ducks or out west to the Pribilof Islands for seabirds.But Dawson says the study showed that more than half of the birders’ money is spent in Southeast Alaska. She credits that in part to bird festivals like the Hummingbird Festival in Ketchikan and the Bald Eagle Festival in Haines.
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