Luis E. Santiago, University of Puerto Rico John Loomis, Colorado State University Hydrology Days 2008 Colorado State University Fort Collins, Colorado This research was funded by NSF Biocomplexity Project studying coupled natural and Human systems Grant #

 Natural Resource Managers often need to know:  Value of Protecting Natural Features such as Waterfalls from hydropower development  Added value of providing visitor access to Natural Features such as Waterfalls as road construction to waterfall areas can be expensive  Added value of providing trails at recreation areas, as trail construction & maintenance is also expensive

 To provide economic valuation information on incremental value of recreation with waterfalls and trails  Illustrate how the Contingent Valuation Method can be applied to not only provide:  An overall value of current recreation  How that value changes with presence of waterfalls and construction of hiking trails

 WTP it = (A 1i,..., A ni, D 1i,..., D ni )  WTP it = net benefits (willingness to pay) from recreation experience  A 1i,..., A ni = built and natural site attributes such as scenic views, the presence of waterfalls, availability of parking spots and the presence of foot trails  D 1i, D 2i,..., D ni = demographic characteristics of the visitor, including gender, age, level of education, and annual income  i = individual respondent to survey  t = date 4Hydrology Days 2008

 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.  Sample size  1,126 questionnaires  99% response rate 5Hydrology Days 2008

 Information Component of Survey Instrument  Item to be valued: recreation site  Payment vehicle: recreation trip cost  Time frame of payment: PER TRIP 6Hydrology Days 2008

 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 randomly presented to respondents began at $5, and ranged up to $160.  35 respondents evaluated each bid amount. 7Hydrology Days 2008

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River Espiritu SantoFajardoMameyes Number of Observations Natural and Built Site Variables Average Temperature (in ºF) Presence of Waterfalls 3 of 5 sites2 of 5 sites2 of 7 sites Presence of Scenic Views 3 of 5 sites 5 of 7 sites Presence of Formal Trails 1 of 5 sites0 of 5 sites2 of 7 sites 9Hydrology Days 2008

 Probability (YES) =  1 - {1 + exp[ β 0 - β 1 (X) + β A (A) + β D (D)]}  Where:  β 0 = the intercept.  β 1 = the coefficient on the bid variable,  X = the given bid amount,  β A = the coefficient on the built and natural site attributes (A n ), and  β D = the coefficient on the demographic variables (D n ). 10Hydrology Days 2008

VariableCoefficientz-StatisticProb. Constant BID ($) WATERFALL FOOT TRAILS EDUCATION GENDER Hydrology Days 2008

 The median net economic value of a visit to the two 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. 13Hydrology Days 2008

 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 3 of 17 sites have formal trails.  Some sites, especially outside the CNF, don’t have adequate parking, picnic areas, regular trash collection. 14Hydrology Days 2008