WASHINGTON — The outdoor-recreation industry accounted for an estimated 2 percent of the country’s gross domestic product last year — with $374 billion in economic activity — according to a government report out Wednesday.

But just as significant is the fact that federal economists have for the first time studied and publicized its contributions, which is evidence that the industry is gaining clout on Wall Street and Capitol Hill.

Outdoor recreation’s new stand-alone designation from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis puts it on par with a select group of other sectors such as health care, tourism and the arts, and advocates said the findings could provide some much-needed ammunition for fights over public lands and the environment.

“We’ll be able to show that we have government-backed data that talks about the importance of investing in recreation,” said Amy Roberts, executive director of the Boulder-based Outdoor Industry Association.

That comes into play, she added, when policymakers are considering “whether to allow mining or whether to allow energy exploration or whether to set aside an area for recreation.”

“(That’s) something that we haven’t had in the past,” Roberts said.

Also included in the report is a breakdown of gross output — basically sales — of specific activities or sectors within the industry.

Motorized vehicles registered about $59.3 billion in gross output last year, with about half of that — nearly $30 billion — going to RVs. Motorcycles were worth another $11.3 billion.

Not surprisingly, activities that don’t require a trip to the gas station had less gross output. Bicycling clocked in at $3.3 billion, and camping/climbing accounted for $7.9 billion. Overall, hunting was worth nearly $9.3 billion, with an additional $6.1 billion thrown in for “other shooting/trapping,” according to the report.

“Part of the objective of this is to tie together all the strings of this sector through the economy and pull them together in one thread,” said Thomas Dail, a spokesman for the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

The findings, however, are not complete. Over the next several months, the agency will ask experts, business leaders and the public to fact-check the data and review the agency’s methodology of putting it together.

An updated version will be released before Sept 30. It’s still undecided whether the agency or Congress will want additional reports on the outdoor-recreation industry after this study is finalized, Dail said.

Wednesday’s report is the result of legislation introduced by Republican U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner of Colorado and signed into law by President Barack Obama in December 2016.

The measure directed the Bureau of Economic Analysis — with no additional federal funding — to calculate the impact of outdoor recreation on the U.S. economy, similar to another recent study that it did for arts and cultural activities.

“Outdoor recreation is a driving force behind Colorado’s economy, which is why this report is so important,” said Gardner in a statement. “I look forward to reviewing the findings and know this data will be used by industry leaders and policymakers moving forward.”

Added U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo.: “For the first time, this report measures what so many of Colorado’s businesses, sportsmen, and local governments already know: The outdoor-recreation industry boosts our state’s economy.”

One area where the report is likely to see some action is the ongoing debate over public lands.

Outdoor enthusiasts and environmentalists have expressed concern about efforts by the Trump administration to open up more federal land to development — starting with his decision last year to roll back protections for two national monuments in Utah: Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante.

That move and the support it received from top Utah officials were cited by leaders in the outdoor industry as the reason they decided to move a profitable trade show from Utah to Colorado.

And they say they’re willing, going forward, to flex their economic and political muscle even more — armed with their own data and findings from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

“Nearly three out of four Coloradans participate in outdoor recreation each year, generating more than $28 billion in consumer spending,” wrote the heads of more than 100 outdoor companies in a letter this week to the state’s congressional delegation.

But they warned that Colorado’s claim to the Outdoor Retailer show is not guaranteed — in part because of recent support among Republican lawmakers for a tax measure that opened the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling.

“These actions are of serious concern to us as they run counter to the fundamental reason our industry moved our biggest trade show to Colorado,” they wrote. “We want to be in a state that not only defends our core conservation laws, but that champions protection for our public lands.” Related Articles Feds’ plan to allow more drilling in western Colorado nets second lawsuit

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That said, the outdoor industry remains a small player in a political scene dominated by giants — notably the oil and gas sector. Last year, that industry spent more than $125 million on federal lobbying, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.

The watchdog group had no separate designation for outdoor recreation, although it calculated that nearly $8 million was spent on lobbying by recreation and live-entertainment businesses — with $320,000 of that amount coming from the Outdoor Industry Association.

Still, its supporters were upbeat after the release of the Bureau of Economic Analysis’ report.

“I couldn’t be more thrilled that we reached this day,” said Travis Campbell, president of Smartwool, an outdoor-apparel company based in Steamboat Springs. “Our visibility has been rising and our influence has been rising, … (but) this is probably the most pivotal thing we’ve had happen.”