In this edition
- NEAP Overview
- NEAP's Partners
- NEAP Process
- NEAP Deliverables
- Spotlight: Outdoor Recreation
- What Can NEAP Do For You?
- Upcoming Events
About the Newsletter
This is the official newsletter for the Nevada Economic Assessment Project (NEAP). This newsletter will update you on the most recent ‘goings-on’ of NEAP, highlighting new partners, new projects being taken on, and notifying you of upcoming events held by our team.
NEAP Overview
State of Nevada Capitol building
The Nevada Economic Assessment Project (NEAP) is a statewide program that develops a comprehensive data repository of county quantitative and qualitative baseline data to be used to assess local planning and economic development initiatives. The program also provides individual counties with economic impact assessment models to analyze industries and activities associated with policy decisions. NEAP was created by a group of public entities in Nevada in order to help our communities create a quantitative backing for decision making.
The goal of NEAP is to develop and maintain an extensive county-based data repository and set of analytical tools that are meaningful, consistent and verifiable.
GO TO NEAP WEBSITE
NEAP's Partners
Logos BLM, NACO, USDA Rural Development, and Forest Service
The United States Forest Service and the United States Bureau of Land Management manage a majority of the lands in Nevada. However, they understand the need to use those lands for the public good and the overall benefit of Nevadans. In the years leading up to NEAP, these organizations experienced trouble finding reliable and consistent data throughout all of Nevada, especially the rural communities. To properly access economic impacts with land usage, the organizations needed this data and approached Buddy Borden and Tom Harris to rectify the situation. Henceforth, NEAP was born out of this collaboration. Shortly after that, the Nevada Association of Counties (NACO) was approached to join as well. NACO is a longtime supporter and partner of Extension. NACO agreed and saw the need and benefit to the communities across Nevada from its partnership with NEAP. Further into the program, the USDA Rural Development approached the NEAP and also asked to be a part of it seeing the great strides taken in providing consistent datasets throughout Nevada.
NEAP Process
All of NEAP's data, including fact sheets, reports and articles, can be found on our website. Our website is divided into pages that are represented by each county; of Nevada's 17 counties, 15 have been completed with initial baseline data with only Clark and Washoe to be completed.
NEAP's process is designed to integrate research and county-based education that takes three months to complete per county. While the process of delivering NEAP to a county has changed since the pandemic, the deliverables have remained the same. Since the pandemic, county workshops and informational sessions have been conducted virtually. However, as restrictions are being lifted, the team has been able to present in person at some locations.
NEAP Deliverables
Data Repository centered with Demographics, Social Characteristics, Economics, Industry Performers, Land Use and Fiscal Characteristics, Community Assets.
Over the last 36 months, NEAP has been implemented in 15 Nevada counties that have generated the following deliverables:
- 15 baseline reports
- 4 technical reports
- 85 infographic fact sheets
- 13 asset mapping community surveys
- 15 cultural overviews
NEAP outputs have been used for land use planning, policy assessment, economic impact analyses and federal grant applications (NIFA, NEPA, etc.). Along these lines, NEAP has contributed to other existing programs like CEDS. The data repository is designed to be updated and re-implemented into community projections, so that community planning is made easier.
Each county has its own landing page for citizens and county leaders to access NEAP deliverables or to check in on any updates, such as new reports, fact sheets, and surveys. Currently, 15 of the 17 counties are active with full NEAP reports and fact sheets.
Spotlight: Outdoor Recreation
Oudoor Recreation areas: Hunting, trapping, fishing, boating, off-highway vehicle travel, non-motorized travel, camping and picnicking, snow activities, viewing, specialized events & activities.
NEAP is adding outdoor recreation visitation and expenditure data to its repository.
Outdoor recreation is an economic driver for all counties in Nevada. Over the last year, NEAP's team has started working with state and federal agencies to collect outdoor recreation data by county, agency district and individual recreational site. This data will be part of each county’s data repository and assist with outdoor recreation statistics and estimating impacts. NEAP's team has defined outdoor recreation under eight categories, which can seen below. These categories are defined by specific outdoor recreation activities that will be detailed in future reports. Economic impacts will be estimated using county impact models to help manage and plan future outdoor recreation sites and activities. Finally, strategies are under discussion on how to collect outdoor recreation data better and provide the best information for decision making.
In-Depth Hunting Expenditure Surveying Coming to a Close
The Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) is the state agency responsible for the management of fish and wildlife resources throughout Nevada. NDOW partnered with NEAP personnel to survey hunters in Nevada regarding visitation, travel and expenditure patterns. This study is the first comprehensive study of big game hunting-related expenditures specifically for Nevada since 1988 and is the first study ever of upland game hunting-related expenditures in Nevada. The analysis considers how hunting-related expenditures depend on the animal species and class hunted, differ between resident and nonresident hunters, and how big game hunting expenditures differed between 2019 and 2020 to analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on hunting in Nevada. Data gathered includes expenditures during hunts, during pre-hunt scouting trips, post-hunt-related expenses and expenses by guests who accompanied the hunter.
The study has been completed and is in the analysis and publishing phase.
Significant findings for hunting in Nevada in 2020 include:
- Over 450,000 big game effort days
- Over $75,000,000 in expenditures generated (big game-related)
- Over 200,000 upland game hunting days Over $40,000,000 in expenditures (upland game-related)
- Over $250,000,000 in expenditures on large item purchases for hunting purposes
What Can NEAP Do For You?
Front page of Mountain Biking Publication for LIncoln County, NV
NEAP's team has the ability and expertise to help local communities, county, state organizations and industry partners with a wide variety of specialized CED activities, such as:
- economic impact analyses
- socioeconomic data for grants
- feasibility studies
- surveying
- community economic planning
- I/O modeling for industry change
We are highly adaptable and can help customize theNEAP to best fit your needs.
Email Us
Upcoming Events
Buddy Borden presenting at the NACO conference
Planned for 2022
In 2022, NEAP's team will host regional workshops designed to teach counties how to use the data repository to help with everyday planning and development decisions. Also during these workshops, there will be an opportunity to discuss emerging local, regional or state initiatives and strategic responses. These workshops will be an excellent opportunity to network and learn. Stay tuned for more information and if you would like to sign up for updates, please send an email to EconDev@unr.edu
Email Us
