Abstract:
Public agencies need information on the value of
recreational activities to assist in managing fish and
wildlife species. Over the past two decades economists have
developed and applied techniques to measure the value of such
non-marketed commodities.
The contingent valuation method (CVM) is one technique
used by economists to measure net benefits associated with a
change in the quantity or quality of a non-marketed commodity.
Unlike other techniques such as the travel cost and hedonic
methods, which use market data to infer willingness to pay
(WTP), CVM directly elicits willingness to pay or willingness
to accept (WTA) information.
CVM is used in this thesis to estimate the use value of
changes in the quality of the elk hunting experience. The
focus of the study is elk hunting on the Starkey Research
Forest in eastern Oregon. Since 1988, the Oregon Department
of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) and the U.S. Forest Service have
collected data on big game hunting on this area. The Starkey data sets provide unique research
opportunities because of the enclosed nature of the Starkey
Research Forest (25,000 acres surrounded by 38 miles of fence)
and the duration of the survey effort (10 years). Although
the surveys contain questions specific to an analysis by both
the contingent valuation and travel cost methods, only the
contingent valuation method is considered here.
Specific objectives of the thesis research include: (1)
derivation of valuation functions for the two dichotomous
choice WTP and WTA elicitations, (2) estimation of changes in
WTA and WTP for changes in significant explanatory variables,
and (3) suggestions for improvements in future Starkey
surveys.
Valuation functions, as used here, provide increased
flexibility over point estimates. The explanatory variables
in a valuation function can be changed to obtain estimates of
the corresponding changes in WTP and WTA values. The valuation
functions can then be used to derive estimates of central
tendency for the contingent scenarios.
Results include an estimated median value of $113 per
hunter for access to hunting and an estimated mean value per
trip of $287 per hunter for increases in the elk herd (to
ensure an opportunity to shoot at an elk). Additionally, the
flexibility of valuation functions is demonstrated by showing
how changes in the values of significant (at the .05 level)
explanatory variables affect WTP and WTA values. Four policy and three methodological implications are
gleaned from the results. The four policy implications are
that: (1) the elk hunting recreational experience is providing
substantial benefits to Starkey hunters, (2) willingness to
pay values are sensitive to the size of respondents' incomes,
(3) respondents are willing to pay more to increase the elk
herd to the point where they would be virtually certain of
having an opportunity to shoot at an elk and (4) Starkey
hunters object to the tradeoff between their right to hunt and
private goods.
The three methodological implications are (1) a
demonstration of the flexibility of WTP functions, (2) a
confirmation of the importance of using specific and
unambiguous wording in the contingent scenarios, and (3) a
confirmation of the importance of pretests to determine the
initial ranges and number of bids in dichotomous choice
surveys.
Two problems with the current surveys are the loss of
efficiency due to the low number and narrow range of bids and
the lack of specificity and ambiguous wording used in some of
the contingent scenarios. Suggestions include increases in
the number and range of the bids, the inclusion of an
additional question and the inclusion of a "not for sale"
category.
