Luis E. SantiagoUniversity of Puerto Rico

John LoomisColorado State University

Society for Conservation Biology 2008Annual Meeting

July 16, 2008Chattanooga, Tennessee

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No.

0308414.

Past studies only provided value per visitor day for all or nothing decisions (close site, strip mine it)

Our study provides valuation information on Site characteristics that could be provided by

management at a cost: Trails, campsites, parking, etc.

Routing of roads and trails to scenic features such as waterfalls Topography may make road or trail building more

expensive Waterfalls are coveted for small head hydropower

Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) is capable of monetizing the economic values of instream flow and water-based recreation (Cameron 1993; Loomis 2000)

Past stated preference valuation studies asked respondents a series of WTP questions to estimate change in recreation value with site attributes (Holmes and Adamowicz 2003; Hanley & Ruffel 1993; Walsh et . Al. 1989)

Our approach requires asking respondents a single CVM question to value site attributes

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Information Component of Survey Instrument Item to be valued: recreation site Payment vehicle: recreation trip cost Time frame of payment: one-time

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Contingent Valuation Question Response format: Dichotomous-choice Question: As you know the price of gasoline

often goes up. Taking into consideration that there are other rivers as well as beaches nearby where you could go visit, if the cost of this visit to this river was $____ more than what you have already spent, would you still have come today? ____ Yes ____ No

The bid amount presented to respondents began at $5, increased by multiples of 5 to $160.

35 respondents evaluated each bid amount.5

Probability (YES) = 1 - {1 + exp[β0 - β1(X) + βA (A) + βD (D)]}

where β0 = the intercept β1 = the coefficient on the bid variable X = the given bid amount βA = the coefficient on the built and natural

site attributes (An) βD = the coefficient on the demographic

variables (Dn)6

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Conversion of Logit coefficients into WTP equation and marginal values: Statistical analysis: Logit Model Convert Logit coefficients to WTP equation

using Cameron reparameterization to calculate marginal values Divide all coefficients through by coefficient on

bid amount

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(WTPit = f(A1i, . . . , Ani, D1i , . . . , Dni )

WTPit = net benefits (willingness to pay) from recreation experience

A1i, . . . , Ani = built and natural site attributes such as scenic views, the presence of waterfalls, availability of parking spots and the presence of foot trails

D1i, D2i , . . . , Dni = demographic characteristics of the visitor, including gender, age, level of education, and annual income

i = individual respondent to survey t = date

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Sample size 984 questionnaires 99% response rate

Data Collection Mode In-person interviews at recreation site while

visitors were recreating The interviewers were trained graduate and

undergraduate students who closely followed a script

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Three watersheds in northeastern Puerto Rico

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River   Espíritu Santo Fajardo MameyesNumber of Observations 164 229 591

Natural and Built Site VariablesPresence of Waterfalls   3 of 5 sites 1 of 3 sites 2 of 5 sites

Presence of Formal Trails   2 of 5 sites 0 of 3 sites 3 of 5 sites

Socio-Economic VariablesGender Male 63% 50% 48%

  Female 37% 50% 52%Average Education Level (in years)   12.6 13.0 13.3

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Variable Coefficient z-Statistic Prob.

Constant 1.1375 5.572 0.000BID ($) -0.0094 -13.59 0.000

WATERFALL 0.2126 2.1485 0.032FOOT TRAILS 0.1774 1.6924 0.091EDUCATION -0.0234 -1.6865 0.092

GENDER 0.1775 2.154 0.031

CONSTANT WFALL FTRAILS EDUC GENDER BID

1.1375 0.2126 0.1773 -0.0234 0.1775 -0.0093

CONSTANT WFALL FTRAILS EDUC GENDER

$ 122.31 $ 22.86 $ 19.06 - $2.51 $ 19.08

The median net economic value of a visit to the three rivers without waterfalls or foot trails is $96

Recreation at rivers with both waterfalls and foot trails has a median value of $138 per trip

The presence of waterfalls accounts for $23 and foot trails $19 per trip

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This information can be pertinent for managers Selecting recreation site locations Protecting sites from competing uses, such as

locations with sufficient gradient for waterfalls, also coveted by others for hydropower development

Improving existing site facilities Only 5 of 13 sites have formal trails Some sites, especially outside the CNF, don’t have

adequate parking, picnic areas , regular trash collection

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The natural and built attributes of these river recreation sites provide an economically valuable recreation experience to visitors

There is a substantial economic value even if there is little direct cash flow to the U.S. Forest Service , the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or its municipalities

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