Western Reef Heron Benefits Maine
A Study Measures the Economic Impact of the Western Reef Heron in Kittery, Maine
It's difficult to measure the economic impact of bird watching. The August appearence of the rare Western Reef Heron, in Kittery, Maine, provided an opportunity.
On August 18, Maine birder Lysle Brinker saw and identified a Western Reef Heron in Kittery Point. This bird is widely believed to be the same Western Reef Heron (a native of Africa and the Middle East) that had drawn birders to Glace Bay, Cape Breton in Canada earlier in the summer. In Kittery, Maine, it had the same magnetic effect.
The Wild Bird Center of Yarmouth, Maine, got involved with providing information to visiting birders, and also thought to do a survey of visitors to try to estimate the economic impact that the bird had on Kittery. They asked visitors where they had traveled from, how long they stayed, how much money they spent in Kittery (and where they spent it) and other questions.
People came from almost every state, including Alaska, and many Canadian provinces, to see the heron. A report on the study, “The Economic Impact of the Western Reef Heron (Egretta gularis) on the Town of Kittery. Maine in August of 2006”, by Jeanette Lovitch and Derek Lovitch, gives the estimated total spent in just nine days at more than $9300.00. Given that this total is based on spending in Kittery alone, the authors predict that tens of thousands were spent in Maine and New Hampshire during the heron’s visit.
Read this interesting report, including survey questions
About the Western Reef Heron
The Glace Bay Western Reef Heron
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