Economic Impact of Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council Project Funding in Minnesota, 2012-2016

Abstract

The Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council (LSOHC) was established by the Minnesota State Legislature with the responsibility of providing annual recommendations to the legislature on how the funds should be used. The council will make recommendations to the legislature on appropriations of money from the Outdoor Heritage Fund that are consistent with the Constitution and state law and that take into consideration the outcomes of, including, but not limited to, the Minnesota Conservation and Preservation Plan, that directly relate to the restoration, protection, and enhancement of wetlands, prairies, forests, and habitat for fish, game, and wildlife, and that prevent forest fragmentation, encourage forest consolidation, and expand restored native prairie. This analysis assessed the economic impact of the appropriated project funding. The LSOHC asked the University of Minnesota Duluth Labovitz School Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER) to estimate this impact on the State on Minnesota using county data for impact models for value added, employment, and output measures. The BBER studied and estimated the economic impacts of twenty-nine funded projects on the State of Minnesota. The economic modeling data and software used were IMPLAN. The study used IMPLAN’s economic multiplier analysis and input/output modeling, Version 3.0, created in Minnesota by the MIG, Inc. Data was the most recent IMPLAN data, which is for year 2010. Results are reported in 2012 dollars, using deflators as calculated within the model.