Study states that Shawano Lake accounts for $39 million

A UW-Oshkosh student-led study claims that more than $39 million was contributed to the local economy by means of Shawano Lake.

The students in Professor Marianne Johnson’s senior-level public economic class worked with various organizations and governmental bodies to run the study, including the DNR and the Shawano Parks Department.

“Here at UW-Oshkosh, we have something called the Center for Customized Research, and they solicit projects from all over the state, dealing with local economic impacts,” said Johnson. “I asked the person who runs the program if they might have a project that my students could work on this spring.”

Shawano Country Chamber Executive Director Nancy Smith said that she and Peter Thillman, Shawano County Economic Progress Inc. chief economic development officer, pitched the idea after Johnson had called with her request.

“This has been a question the chamber has received over the years: What is the economic impact of Shawano Lake to the area?” said Smith.

Johnson said that three projects were pitched to the class for their assignment.

“My students thought that Shawano Lake was the most interesting,” said Johnson. “We talk a lot about things that are shared or are public goods, like lakes and parks. We also cover a lot of environmental projects. I think that because we have been talking about that for a couple weeks, the students wanted to do Shawano Lake.”

She walked through the process of how the students collected the data for the study.

“We brainstormed all of the different ways that people might be using the lake,” said Johnson. “To measure the economic impact, we really wanted to see if the lake is bringing people in. Are they renting boats? Are they fishing? Are they staying in hotels? We brainstormed a long list, and then different students volunteered to do different things.”

In the study, the students concluded that more than $29 million was contributed to the local economy in 2021 through direct and indirect spending from Shawano Lake visitors, which is different than total economic impact. With using data from previous years, the study states that in 2021, there was a total impact of $39 million. That $39 million includes taxes on lakefront properties, spending by owners of second homes and direct and indirect spending from lake visitors. That figure is up about $5 million from 2018, when there was a total impact of $34 million from Shawano Lake.

“It was a lot of fun, because during the middle of the semester, everyone had their own piece and could not see the big picture,” said Johnson. “At the end of the semester, when we started to put everything together, they were all pretty surprised by the amount of money.”

Smith said she was not surprised by the amount of money that Shawano Lake brings in to the area.

“Many visitors travel to our area specifically to utilize the lake for fishing, water sports, tournaments, other events, or to simply enjoying the scenic beauty,” said Smith. “These visitors obviously spend money with many local businesses and lodging properties.”

Johnson said one point in particular stuck out to her after reading the students’ study.

“It was the extent of second-homeowners around the lake. Out of more than 800 homes around the lake, more than 500 are second-homeowners,” said Johnson. “They come from all over the United States. Their home addresses are Florida, Texas, New York and Arizona.”

Smith also spoke on the surprising impact of second homes on the lake.

“This is something we have not measured before,” said Smith. “The study shows these homeowners contribute an estimated $3.5 million to our local economy.”

Johnson also pointed out that the lake accounts for about half (or 46%) of all of the tourism in the county.

She also expressed gratitude for the cooperation her students received as they worked with various businesses and organizations to collect data for their study.

“We had students working with the Wisconsin DNR. We had students who worked with the Shawano Development Corporation, and we had students who worked with Shawano County Parks,” said Johnson. “Everyone was so helpful in helping us complete this study.”

lreimer@newmedia-wi.com