U.S. Outdoor Recreation Use Values: A Benefit Transfer Study

Past empirical benefit measures and other information originally obtained through primary data collection can be used for assessing and analyzing current management and policy actions. This use of past valuation information for current policy analysis is called benefit transfer. In this report, we present information from our database of 1239 consumer surplus estimates usable for benefit transfer that we created from our extensive literature review. The outdoor recreation use value database spans from 1967 through 2003 with activities ranging from birdwatching and picnicking to rock climbing and snorkeling. A park manager or other planner could easily use the information from our database to estimate consumer surplus values for a park, region, or activity, separately, or in combination. For instance, consumer surplus per person per day for wildlife viewing is US$35.30. However, if you are interested in a specific area, such as Alaska, you would find that the consumer surplus for wildlife viewing is US$41.11. Here, we see that the wildlife value in Alaska is higher than the overall average of wildlife viewing, which may be due to the fact that many people go to Alaska to see the big five: wolves, brown bears, dall sheep, caribou, and moose. Databases such as these provide a vast amount of valuable information and can easily be used by a wide range of audiences, from academics to land managers to politicians.