This web site contains a collection of information for NRCS to use for contingent valuation of recreational activities for watershed planning and other NRCS economic purposes. The Unit Day Method is the most common method used for calculating recreational benefits for NRCS usage, but it is based on 1962 data which provided an average value of $1.00 per day, +/- some quality differences. That 1962 value was indexed to the 1982 values used in P&G by CPI, and these values should be in-turn be indexed to current values by current CPI. The FY2016 values are:
Specialized Recreation Values other than Fishing and Hunting (2)
0
$ 3.90
$ 5.61
$ 27.33
$ 15.86
10
$ 4.64
$ 6.35
$ 28.07
$ 16.84
20
$ 5.12
$ 6.83
$ 28.55
$ 18.06
30
$ 5.86
$ 7.57
$ 29.29
$ 19.52
40
$ 7.32
$ 8.30
$ 30.02
$ 20.74
50
$ 8.30
$ 9.03
$ 32.95
$ 23.43
60
$ 9.03
$ 10.01
$ 35.87
$ 25.87
70
$ 9.52
$ 10.49
$ 38.07
$ 31.24
80
$ 10.49
$ 11.23
$ 41.00
$ 36.36
90
$ 11.23
$ 11.47
$ 43.93
$ 41.49
100
$ 11.71
$ 11.71
$ 46.37
$ 46.37
This method can be used for insignificant recreational calculations for watershed analysis, but economists should note that the values obtained are highly conservative, averaging perhaps 20% of the current values from actual Recreational Economics studies using other methods. If the recreational benefits have any potential for affecting the selection of the NED or Recommended Plans, economists are highly advised to adopt applicable contingent valuation or travel costs methods. While the cost and time requirements of obtaining actual survey data on specific proposed NRCS projects is often prohibitive, NRCS economists are encouraged to use the Benefit Transfer method was updated in October 2005, and the database was updated to 1,200 values. The Roenberger study is updated to 2010 values.
The Recreation Use Values Database for North America, developed by Dr. Randall Rosenberger with hundreds of economic valuation studies that estimated the use value of recreation activities in the U.S. and Canada from 1958 to 2011, totaling 2,703 estimates in per person per activity day, adjusted to 2010 USD.
Southwick Associates have made information on the economic contributions of hunting on a state-by-state basis available free. The research is based on expenditure data from USFWS National Survey (see above). Go to the "Free Reports" section and select the 2001 report titled "U.S. - 2001 Economic Impacts of Hunting". They continually have additional tables and reports coming out.
The US Army Corps of Engineers has a number of survey studies of actual camper, boater, hunter, and visitor expenditures at and around parks, campgrounds, and lakes.
Reports and Journal Articles
Hussain, A., I. Munn, D. Holland, J. Armstrong, and S. Spurlock. 2012. Economic Impact of Wildlife-Associated Recreation Expenditures in the Southeast United States: A General Equilibrium Analysis. Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics 44.
Johnston, R.J., M.H. Ranson, E.Y. Besedin and E.C. Helm. 2006. ‘What Determines Willingness to Pay per Fish? A Meta-Analysis of Recreational Fishing Values,’ Marine Resource Economics, 21, 1-32<
Kelch, D., F. Lichtkoppler, B. Sohngen, and A. Daigneault. 2006. The value of steelhead (Onchorhynchus mykiss) angling in Lake Erie tributaries. Journal of Great Lakes Research 32:424-433.
Kim, H. N., W. D. Shaw, and R. T. Woodward. 2007. The distributional impacts of recreational fees: A discrete choice model with incomplete data. Land Economics 83:561-574.
Mahasuweerachai, P., T. A. Boyer, D. M. Balsman, and D. E. Shoup. 2010. Estimating Demand for Urban Fisheries Management: an Illustration of Conjoint Analysis as a Tool for Fisheries Managers. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 30:1339-1351.
McKean, J. R., D. Johnson, and R. G. Taylor. 2010. Willingness-to-pay for steelhead trout fishing: Implications of two-step consumer decisions with short-run endowments. Water Resources Research 46:W09523.
Munn, I. A., A. Hussain, S. Spurlock, and J. E. Henderson. 2010. Economic Impact of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation Expenditures on the Southeast US Regional Economy: An Input–Output Analysis. Human Dimensions of Wildlife 15:433-449. Keefe, D. M. and S. R. Miller. 2011. 2009 Michigan Charter Fishing Study.
Prado, B. E. 2006. Economic valuation of the Lower Illinois trout fishery in Oklahoma under current and hypothetical management plans. Oklahoma State University.
Robbins, J. L. and L. Y. Lewis. 2008. Demolish it and They Will Come: Estimating the Economic Impacts of Restoring a Recreational Fishery. JAWRA Journal of the American Water Resources Association 44:1488-1499.
Taylor, R. G., J. R. McKean, and D. Johnson. 2010. Measuring the location value of a recreation site. Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics 35:87.
Timmins, C. and J. Murdock. 2007. A revealed preference approach to the measurement of congestion in travel cost models. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 53:230-249.
