Economic Impacts of Recreation on the Upper Mississippi River System.

The purpose of this report is to determine the economic impacts of recreational activity on the economies of the Upper Mississippi River region. This determination considers the results of the recreation use and expenditure components in combination, and makes use of Input-Output analysis to estimate the effects of spending on the regional economy. Geographically, the study includes the commercially navigable portions of five rivers the Mississippi north of Cairo, IL, the Illinois River, the St. Croix River, the Minnesota River and the Kaskaskia River. Also included are the side channels, sloughs, and lakes associated with these rivers.