By Sristi Kamal

As crisp, brighter spring days made their way to Oregon, so did the charismatic wildlife that call Oregon home. The return of the tufted puffins on Haystack Rock and the orca sightings off the Oregon coast both made news, highlighting one of the main reasons millions of visitors come to Oregon each year: Our state, brimming with life, has so much to offer. 

From hiking the beautiful Steens and the Columbia River Gorge, fishing in John Day and Sandy rivers, kayaking and rafting McKenzie and Rogue rivers, to enjoying a quiet walk in our old growth forests or along our beautiful coast — there is something here for every visitor who loves the outdoors.

Healthy, abundant wildlife and their ecosystems are a cornerstone of Oregon’s thriving tourism industry. Outdoor recreation supports $15.6 billion in total consumer spending and 224,000 full- and part-time jobs in Oregon. Oregon’s hunting, fishing and wildlife-watching activities have accounted for $1.2 billion in spending per year, and have supported over 11,000 jobs. Non-consumptive use, such as nature, wildlife, forest and wildflower tourism, accounts for $939 million of total spending per year.

But there is little to no state investment in supporting the recovery of our more than 300 species of greatest conservation needs that support our tourism industry. 

State general and lottery funds combined comprise only 10-13 percent of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (ODFW) total budget, with direct investments in our State Wildlife Action Plan at only 2.75 percent. Most of the agency’s current funding comes from hunting and fishing license sales, and excise taxes on sales of guns and ammunition. Yet, 88 percent of Oregon’s wildlife species are not hunted or fished. Without sufficient and consistent funding from the state, Oregon’s most vulnerable species and habitats remain at risk.

This session, the Oregon Legislature is considering House Bill 2977, or “1% for Wildlife,” which proposes a 1 percent increase to our current 1.5 percent state transient lodging tax — a tax that is largely paid by non-Oregonians — to fund our State Wildlife Action Plan. 

Neighboring states have state lodging tax rates two to five times higher than Oregon, and research shows these kinds of revenue sources do not reduce tourism or related spending. This important bill would boost ODFW’s budget by an estimated 10 percent while balancing agency funding between consumptive and non-consumptive use of wildlife.

With the federal funding cuts that have been proposed and enacted, ODFW’s conservation programs are in desperate need for Oregon to step up and fulfill its responsibility of protecting species and habitats that support our robust tourism industry, and everything that makes Oregon so unique. This would fund the creation of more wildlife crossings, increase habitat restoration and give a needed boost to proactive efforts that will help nature’s economic drivers thrive.

For a modest increase of less than the price of a cup of coffee for a $200 room on the coast, Oregon’s tourists can reinvest into what attracts many visitors to our beautiful part of the country in the first place.

Sristi Kamal is deputy director of the Western Environmental Law Center and holds a Ph.D. in ecology from Jagiellonian University, with research work conducted at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.