Rend Lake Marina owner Steve Vercellino estimates a portion of his boat business has grown as high as 15 percent in the past five years thanks to campers.

"That's significant for a business like this," Vercellino said of his six-man operation at the end of Dam Road in Franklin County.

Quick to add that his 15 percent estimate is "at best, a ballpark guess," Vercellino has watched his Monday-to-Friday business traffic increase with what he believes is a growing number of campers pitching tents, popping up campers or hooking up fifth wheels at Rend Lake Recreation Area campgrounds.

But all that may be changing. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers last week announced the closing of the 165-site South Marcum Campground, including the Dale Miller Youth Area and Covey Point. The lake area hosts nearly 800 sites, the Corps Web site states.

Other areas due for cutbacks in services include North Marcum day-use area with its beach, shelters and boat ramp; and the North Sandusky picnic area, including shelters and lake access.

The cutbacks are part of federal budget cuts to balance growing expenses, Corps officials have said. Likewise, lake area business owners now must readjust their budgets.

The 19,000-acre lake is an economic engine that revved up roughly $51.4 million in visitor spending within a 30-mile radius during fiscal year 2006, including about $540,000 in annual fee collections. The local fee collections aren't recirculated locally - that money is deposited directly with the U.S. Treasury, Corps officials explained.

With the Corps' local office reporting more than 3 million people visiting Rend Lake and 140,000 to South Marcum alone between January and July in fiscal year 2006, Pheasant Hollow Winery's growth relies on capturing "even a small percentage" of visitors as customers. The winery is in Whittington off Illinois 37.

Winery co-owner and manager Bruce Morgenstern guessed 8 to 10 percent of his business is from campers who attend winery festivals, sample and buy wine, or simply settle on the porch for a glass of wine.

"I just don't get it. You can't ever get campsites, so I don't understand why they have to close anything. It's kind of crazy to me," Morgenstern commented.

He noted a key component to tourism economic impact is what the industry calls "heads in beds," or overnight visitors. Winery events also add to those numbers, Morgenstern said.

By tracking how many visitors stay overnight, government and tourism entities can also use complex formulas to estimate how much visitors will spend on lodging, meals, gasoline and other travel necessities as well as such incidentals as fees, admissions and shopping.

Weekend traffic at a business such as Lake Zone Convenience Store, also off Illinois 37, adds up to sales of gas, ice, drinks, snack foods, lottery tickets, maps and more. Each sale also chips in sales tax revenue to local, state, and - with some products such as wine - federal governments.

Rend Lake Resort owner John Reilly recently pointed out that for every dollar spent on fees at the lake, another $7 is spent in the local communities at grocery stores, gas stations, drug stores, restaurants and even Wal-Mart.

karen.binder@thesouthern.com / 351-5080