A USU study finds that fishing brings in $259 million or more annually for Utah economy. The Salt Lake Tribune has this article about the study. Below are excerpts.

The economists say that conservatively, they estimate anglers contributed $259 million in direct spending to fish in Utah in 2011 — about $184 million of that spent specifically to fish Utah’s Blue Ribbon waters.

This study showed that Wasatch County benefitted the most from Blue Ribbon Fisheries, with more than $110 million of total economic input from anglers heading to waters like Strawberry Reservoir, the middle Provo River, Jordanelle Reservoir and Currant Creek.

Daggett/Uintah counties pulled in second as the favorite destination area for Blue Ribbon Fisheries with the Green River and Flaming Gorge Reservoir being the main draws. Garfield County saw more than $17 million in contributions from anglers visiting Lake Powell, Panguitch Lake, Panguitch Creek and Corn Creek.

Read the entire article.