historical and archaeological sites, 169,199 acres of wildlife refuges, and 

 6,693 acres of forestry and game management areas in Southwest Florida. 



CURRENT RESOURCE USE AND PROJECTED RECREATIONAL DEMANDS 



Most of the observations in this section were taken from tables and 

 figures in the Data Appendix (i.e.. Table R/T for Recreation and Tourism). 

 More detailed information, especially for individual counties, can be had by 

 further examining the appropriate tables and figures in the Appendix. 



The future demands for recreation and tourism in Southwest Florida and 

 its counties were calculated by determining the ratio of man days of partici- 

 pation (or trips) in Florida per 100 residents (e.g., 84 fishing days per 100 

 people in the population of Collier County). The ratio is multiplied by the 

 number of residents in a particular year and county to get the projected 

 demand. 



For continuity in this report, fishing intensity or any form of recrea- 

 tion usually is expressed in man days or visits (e.g., the average annual 

 number of days of fishing per individual times and number of fishermen). 



PARKS AND RECREATION AREAS 



The number of visitors at State parks and recreation areas in Southwest 

 Florida increased about seven-fold from fiscal years 1955-56 to 1979-80. The 

 change probably was caused by the addition of new parks and recreation areas. 

 From fiscal years 1972-73 to 1975-76, the number of visitors to State parks 

 decreased 60% probably because of increased transportation costs. Of the 

 2,067,262 visitors to State parks and recreation areas in 1980, about 511,000 

 attended Wiggins Pass or Collier-Seminole State Parks in Collier County. 

 Nearly 800,000 attended the six State parks and recreation areas in Monroe 

 County, of which 50% visited John Pennekamp State Park, the Nation's only 

 underwater park. 



The U.S. Department of Interior (1979) reported about one million visi- 

 tors each year in the Everglades National Park and National Seashore. 



SPORT FISHING 



This description of the fishing industry includes information on fresh- 

 water and saltwater sport fishing, and on the economic impact of sport fishing 

 based on computations by Bell (1978). 



The number of freshwater fishing licenses issued to out-of-state (tour- 

 ist) fishermen and other related data are given in Tables R/T 35-40 in the 

 Data Appendix. Licenses are issued for 5-day, 14-day and 12-month periods. 

 In fiscal year 1954-55, the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission 

 (GFWFC) issued 4,930 out-of-state freshwater fishing licenses in Southwest 

 Florida. In fiscal year 1979-80, this figure increased to 16,501 (235%). The 

 sale of resident fishing licenses increased only 6.8% (46,147 to 49,267) from 



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