River recreation can have a positive economic impact for the surrounding communities of the Chartiers Creek watershed and the Pittsburgh region as a whole. Various recreational activities in the Chartiers Creek watershed include hiking, biking, hunting, fishing, bird watching, photography, camping, canoeing, swimming, gardening, and more. Presently several rail-to-trail projects, water quality improvement projects, and park improvements are underway in the watershed. Outlined below are some facts and figures from various studies on recreational values to present a picture of the potential economic benefits from the recreational opportunities in the watershed. Some of these studies cite data from other areas of the country, but are still relevant in that they give an idea of what "could be" for the Pittsburgh area and the Chartiers Creek watershed in particular.

Many of the benefits from river recreation accrue to local residents, but opportunities for this recreation can also attract tourists from outside the Pittsburgh region. To gain an overview of how important tourism is for Allegheny County, 3.9 million people visited the county in 1996, generating an estimated $1.2 billion in economic impact for our region's economy; 26% of this travel was for pleasure. (Greater Pittsburgh Convention & Visitors Center Website.) Often rivers and their associated greenways and trails may become travel destinations in their own right. They certainly have the potential to encourage visitors to Pittsburgh to extend their stay or enhance their business and pleasure travel by taking a bike ride on one of the many trails.

Much of recreational spending is tied to fish and wildlife, both requiring high water quality and healthy habitats. Activities include hunting, fishing, and viewing wildlife (birdwatching, photography, etc.). A cleaner Chartiers Creek and associated streams would promote more fishing activity. (Note that there is currently a fishing advisory for the Chartiers Creek watershed.)

• The 1996 Pennsylvania Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation found that 3.9 million PA residents 16 years and older engaged in fishing, hunting, or wildlife-watching activites. From that total, 1.3 million people fished, 752,000 people hunted, and 3.4 million engaged in wildlife watching. (Some folks engaged in more than one activity, hence the reason the individual totals exceed 3.9 million people.)

• Also in 1996, state residents and nonresidents spent a total of $2.8 billion on wildlife watching recreation. Trip-related expenditures totaled $742 million and equipment purchases accounted for $1.8 billion. The other $215 million was spent on licenses, voluntary contributions for parks and gamelands, land ownership and leasing, and other services. The average expenditure per angler is $453.

• In 1996, anglers fished a total of 20.9 million days in PA, an average of 15 days per angler. Of this total, 19.3 million days were fished by actual PA residents, accounting for 92 % of the fishing done in PA. In-state fishing expenditures by residents 16 years and older accounted for $650 million.

• In PA hunters accounted for $692 million in expenditures in 1996, while wildlife-watching activities accounted for $858 million in expenditures.

Many residents in the Chartiers Creek Watershed enjoy the canoeing opportunities on the creek. As the water quality improves and more access points are established, more people should want to engage in this activity.

• Start-up equipment costs for canoeing account for $390 of spending on the low-end cost range to $1800 on the mid-range cost scale. (Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance Resource Book, published by the National Park Service, hereafter refered to as NPS resource.)
  

Activities can include jogging, walking, biking, hiking, in-line skating, horsebackriding and cross-country skiing, depending on the trail. In the Chartiers Creek Watershed area there are several trails and/or planned trail areas, including the Montour Trail, among others. Not only are trail users spending to buy their recreation equipment, they are also spending in the local trailside communities for food, drink, gasoline, lodging, bike rental, etc.

• Looking at biking in particular, a recent study by the Pennsylvania Economy League and the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh, found that the mean local trip spending in communities where trailheads were located ranged from $12.01 to $15.33 per person per trip. It was concluded that a 10 percent increase in distance traveled to the trailhead would increase local spending by 4.2 percent per person per trip.

• The study found that if the various trails in the system were completed, users would increase their usage by an average 2.75 trips per person per year, leading to an estimated additional spending of $2.2 million to $4.3 million per year on bike equipment and trip related expenditures. Past annual expenditures on bikes and bike equipment related to trail use ranged from $8.9 to $12.2 million per year.

• Total estimated 1998 spending in trailhead communities ranged from $5.4 million to $14.1 million.

The actual amounts spent by trail users are only a portion of the total ecnomic activity spurred by the use of the trails and greenways. Local businesses serving trail and park users purchase goods and services from other businesses, creating a multiplier effect. Jobs are created from greater recreation usage of trails and greenways and parks along rivers.

Not to be underestimated, greenways, rivers, and trails can increase a community's quality of life, attracting businesses, corporations, and residents to areas adjacent to these sites. According to a 1989 study, quality of life for employees was the third most important factor in locating a business to an area. And according to a 1987 report, a city's quality of life is more important than purely business-related factors when drawing new businesses, especially those in the high-tech and service industries that the Pittsburgh region is so keen to attract (NPS Resource.)