Recreation benefits of natural area characteristics at the caribbean national forest

1. Recreation benefits of natural area characteristics at the caribbean national forest Luis E. Santiago University of Puerto Rico John Loomis Colorado State University Society for Conservation Biology 2008 Annual Meeting July 16, 2008 Chattanooga, Tennessee This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0308414.

2. GOAL: PROVIDE USEFUL ECONOMIC VALUATION INFORMATION TO NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGERS • 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

3. BACKGROUND • 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 Society for Conservation Biology 2008

4. METHODS • Information Component of Survey Instrument • Item to be valued: recreation site • Payment vehicle: recreation trip cost • Time frame of payment: one-time Society for Conservation Biology 2008

5. METHODS • 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

6. ECONOMETRIC SPECIFICATION • 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) Society for Conservation Biology 2008

7. METHODS • 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 7

8. EMPIRICAL MODEL • (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 Society for Conservation Biology 2008

9. METHODS • 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 Society for Conservation Biology 2008

10. SITE LOCATION Three watersheds in northeastern Puerto Rico Society for Conservation Biology 2008

11. DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS Society for Conservation Biology 2008

12. ESTIMATION RESULTS Society for Conservation Biology 2008

13. WTP FUNCTION CALCULATED FROM LOGIT MODEL

14. FINDINGS • 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 Society for Conservation Biology 2008

15. POLICY IMPLICATIONS • 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 Society for Conservation Biology 2008

16. CONCLUSIONS • 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 Society for Conservation Biology 2008