Although nature has long been a major feature for Arizona’s tourism industry, growing population and new trends in outdoor recreation mean fish and wildlife in Arizona are becoming even more popular.

As they do, so does their contribution to Southern Arizona’s economy, making the state’s parks and preserves a greater factor in the region’s success. It also means managing them well is more important than ever.

That is the point that Gerry Perry, southern regional supervisor for Arizona Game and Fish Department, wants people to understand. That’s also why he is looking for greater involvement in preserving Southern Arizona’s wildlife, even as the Tucson metropolitan area expands, swallowing the desert as it grows across the Santa Cruz Valley, from the Tortolita Mountains to the Mexican border.

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“Wildlife management is based on the idea that it’s a renewable resource. On public lands or private ones, managing wildlife means managing a resource that benefits everyone, whether they hunt or fish or just go out to enjoy the scenery,” Perry said.

It also benefits the economy, because whether people are hunting or fishing, bird watching, horseback riding or crossing the landscape in an all-terrain vehicle, they are spending money in local stores and restaurants, and staying in Southern Arizona’s hotels and resorts.

Anglers spend an estimated $831.5 million in Arizona each year on equipment and trip-related expenses. Hunters, 135,000 of them, spend an additional $126.5 million in retail sales and lodging. Perry said their spending, alone, supports more than 17,000 jobs and provides $314 in direct and indirect income.

Bird watchers and naturalists spend another $1.5 billion, supporting 15,000 jobs and providing a total of $430 million in household income, he said.

“The economic value of tourism is great, and it’s an important resource for our communities,” he said, especially for areas like Patagonia, along the southern edge of the state, where the Sonoran Desert provides the greatest variety of wildlife and that provides the greatest attraction for those looking to experience nature.

Even off-highway vehicle recreation, by residents and tourists, makes a major contribution, providing more than $3 billion in direct retail sales and more than twice that amount in indirect economic contribution to the state.

Making sure that this revenue continues to come to the state, the Game and Fish Department has to balance the needs and desires of different user groups as well as the needs of the wildlife, itself. It is a process that requires compliance with state law and guidelines from the state’s five-member Game and Fish Commission, as well as attention to the specific situation in the field, Perry said.

Since the department is supported by license fees from sport fishermen and hunters, these users attract special attention. However, this doesn’t mean other users are ignored. Aside from animal rights groups that are opposed to any hunting or fishing, Perry said, “Everyone agrees that protection of animals and their environment benefits everyone.”

Nature remains the state’s greatest tourism resource, according to statistics from the Arizona Office of Tourism. Sightseeing, nature and outdoor recreation account for 73 percent of the 27.8 million visitors who come to the state each year and spend $13 billion.

“Our natural environment is invaluable,” said Jacki Mieler, spokeswoman for the state tourism office. “It sets us aside from other states and it’s something they can’t create or imitate.”

Richard Vaughan, senior vice president of sales and marketing for the Metropolitan Tucson Convention and Visitors Bureau, said “Along with weather conditions, we have fairly unique natural surroundings, which definitely enhance our ability to market Southern Arizona as a destination.”

He said the Game and Fish Department’s efforts to preserve and protect the environment for hunting and sport fishing, “guarantee we maintain the pristine nature of our environment, which means maintaining the value of our resorts and providing us opportunities for promoting the experience of that to visitors.”

Vaughan noted that there’s always ways to improve what’s done, especially when it comes to providing enough information on their activities on behalf of the natural environment, but he said, “What Game and Fish is doing helps everything we’re doing, because enhancing nature means enhancing this destination, as a whole.”

Contact Philip S. Moore at pmoore@azbiz.com or at (520) 295-4238.