Michigan's outdoor recreation industry pumped $13.9 billion into the state's economy last year, new federal data shows.

Why it matters: Tourism tied to Michigan's natural beauty is an obvious contributor, but the industry also includes a network of manufacturers producing boats, outdoor apparel and fly line for fly fishing.

What they're saying: "It is the production, the warehousing, the shipping, the transportation of those goods, the jobs in those businesses," Brad Garmon, director of the Michigan Outdoor Recreation Industry Office, tells Axios. "Across the board, Michigan is a pretty diverse outdoor economy."

By the numbers: At $13.9 billion, the value of Michigan's outdoor industry ranked 15th in the nation last year.

• It represented 2.07% of the state's total GDP, slightly below the national average of 2.31%.
• The state's industry accounted for more than 118,000 jobs and $6.4 billion in compensation.

Zoom in: The report attempted to track spending on everything from outdoor gear to the gas bought to drive to a trail.

• It also reflects earnings at Michigan companies that supply this gear to other states, such as Carhartt.

🐟 Boating/fishing was Michigan's top contributor to the outdoor industry at $1.2 billion (8th nationally).

• The sector includes companies like Crest, a pontoon maker out of Owosso.

🛣️ RVing: At $831 million, its economic value ranked sixth in the country.

🦌 Hunting/shooting/trapping: Despite falling deer harvest numbers, this sector's value is up about $30 million since pulling in $330 million in 2023.

• It includes companies like Grand Rapids' Sportsman Tracker, which developed an app to find the best time and place to hunt.

Other sectors include motorcycling and ATVing ($230 million), climbing, hiking and tent camping ($206 million), equestrian activities ($142 million) and snow activities ($125 million).

The bottom line: Michigan's great outdoors is one of its greatest assets — benefiting both residents' well-being and the state's economy.

• "We can have a real impact on people's quality of life and health if we can grow the outdoor rec economy and give them more opportunities and more access," Garmon says.

Share with some outdoorsy folks

👋 Annalise here, taking a cup o' kindness with you all near the end of 2024.

Why it matters: On the surface, the New Year may be about looking forward — but it's also a time of reflection.

• That's the spirit of "Auld Lang Syne," the New Year's song that's been sung on one night the world over for many decades, including by me belting it alone in my car on I-75.

Catch up quick: The Scottish song "Auld Lang Syne" (for old times' sake) is attributed to poet Robert Burns in 1788, recalling a shared history over drinks with compatriots.

• "(The song) has continued to be the song of memory and good-fellowship for considerably more than a century," the Free Press wrote in 1919. "It is the best song that has ever been written for this purpose."

I've loved this song since I became old enough to appreciate nostalgia, and many of you likely have memories of it, too.

• I've found it can strike you in two ways: a jovial celebration while clinking beer steins, or, if heard more quietly, an almost melancholy melody best for solitude.
• For me, it evokes some of each. The stroke of midnight on Dec. 31, bittersweet and a little homesick in a bar far from Michigan, and an early winter drive Up North to see family, trees bare and snow mixing with mud along the highway.

"We two have paddled in the stream,

From morning sun till dine;

But seas between us broad have roared

Since auld lang syne."

The bottom line: As another Free Press piece put it in 1894: "Old friendship; old wine; old stories; old customs; fond memories are revived by the new year, and many an old gentleman of the old school looked backward yesterday at the milestones he had passed and thought of that which had occurred on the road."

Share with someone introspective

😡 The city's first and only rage room, The Damage Zone, opened this week in the Bethune community to give customers a place to release stress through controlled destruction. (Metro Times)

🚧 The demolition of the old Wayne County juvenile jail site downtown owned by Bedrock started yesterday. The developer plans to revitalize the site of several vacant criminal justice buildings it owns there. (Crain's) 

🍷 Detroit Vineyards near Eastern Market closed suddenly, citing lack of profitability. (Crain's)

Holiday shopping is in high gear and so are delivery package scams where scammers impersonate USPS, UPS and FedEx via text and email.

The big picture: The U.S. Postal Service and other carriers are warning consumers not to fall for scams that try to trick them into entering personal information.

• USPS would never contact a consumer via text message, unless the customer initiated the request, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service says.

The Better Business Bureau offers tips to avoid delivery scams:

1. Get tracking numbers and check the shipping progress. Look at purchasing shipping insurance.
2. Don't click on links in texts or emails but go to the delivery carrier's website directly or log in and use the retailer's tracking tools.
3. Request a signature when ordering.
4. Consider using delivery company lockers or having packages delivered to your workplace.

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The most popular holiday cookies of 2024 are a mix of classic and festive varieties, according to Google Trends data.

• Michiganders, we're not even sure we've heard of a Christmas Wreath cookie before this — what gives?