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NITRO--With the outdoor recreation industry growing by leaps and bounds, the West Virginia Trails Coalition (WVTC) seeks to unify support for a statewide trails management plan that could help bring millions of dollars to the Mountain State annually.
According to the 1997 State of the Industry Report published by The Outdoor Recreation Coalition of America and The Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association, the human-powered outdoor recreation industry (which includes sports such as hiking, biking and kayaking) contributes an estimated $40 billion per year to the U.S. economy and employs approximately 768,000 people on a full-time basis nationwide.
The same report said hiking has grown 94 percent from 1983 to 1995. It also showed that 57 million Americans participate in bicycling, which has become a $5 billion per year industry.
A study conducted by the Army Corps of Engineers in West Virginia, showed that a single trail--the Hatfield-McCoy Trail in the southern part of the state--will generate almost $1.7 million per year on the local economy and create almost 3,000 jobs.
With economic indicators like these--natural beauty and extensive existing trails--Lu Schrader, a volunteer with the WVTC, said there is a need for a unified trails plan to secure the future of West Virginia's trails system.