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By now, the fall salmon fishing season in Oswego County is winding down. It's quite a sight to see fishermen lining the edge of the Salmon River in Pulaski and Altmar, and along the Oswego River in the city of Oswego. It's exciting to hear an angler yell "Fish On" as he or she works to reel in a large salmon amid the encouragement of fellow anglers.

Each fall, thousands of people from all over the Northeast and mid-Atlantic states travel to Oswego County to try their luck in catching a trophy salmon. Unless you are a fishing enthusiast, you may not know that Oswego County is a top fishing destination that draws avid anglers from states such as Vermont, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and even Ohio. Just recently, there was an article on fishing the Salmon River in "Chesapeake Angler" magazine.

The village of Pulaski was even rated one of the top five places to fish and live by "Vermont Magazine"!

How does this influx of visitors affect Oswego County residents? Last year, tourism generated over $13 million in revenue to our city, town, village and county governments. Through sales tax and bed tax revenues, tourism helps to keep our property taxes down.

The recent economic impact study conducted by the Northern New York Travel and Tourism Research Center at SUNY Potsdam reported total visitor expenditures in Oswego County were more than $115 million. Of that total, visitors spent $35.2 million on recreation, more than any visitors to the other 11 counties surveyed.

The survey also provided an interesting scenario of "what if there were no tourism expenditures in Oswego County?" The study showed that without our tourism industry, our unemployment rate would rise to 19%. Local residents' taxes would increase an additional $244 per household to maintain government services at current levels.

Oswego County government, by promoting Oswego County as a year-round tourism destination, is helping to support tourism jobs. The study showed that an estimated 2,670 jobs throughout the county were supported by direct and indirect tourism expenditures. Wages and salaries earned by residents, as well as income earned by business owners, due to the tourists' expenditures, were estimated to total almost $43 million in 2003! The Department of Promotion and Tourism coordinates a mix of advertising in sportsmen and consumer magazines, participates in sportsmen's shows, and distributes articles to outdoor print and on-line publications.

Another interesting fact is that our county hosted more out of state visitors than any other county surveyed. Fifty-four (54%) percent of the visitors that traveled to our county were out of state. Many of these visitors return yearly during the winter months to snowmobile and ice fish, golf in the summer or hunt in the fall. Some even purchase a second home or camp. In fact, Oswego County has more than double the state average of seasonal residences. About 6% of the total residential properties are seasonal; more than double the state's average of 2.2%

The department is directed by Christine Gray and its work is overseen by the members of the Legislature's Economic Development and Planning Committee, chaired by Legislator Kimberly Seager, District 10, Phoenix, Schroeppel and Volney. The committee includes legislators Jack Beckwith, District 21, Hannibal; Barbara Brown, District 8, Palermo, Hastings, Schroeppel; Tom Bullard, District 14, Scriba; Francis Hoefer, District 19, Minetto, Oswego, Hannibal and Granby; Paul Santore, District 16, Oswego; and David Waters, District 3, Richland and Pulaski.