Non-market valuation of off-highway vehicle recreation in Larimer County, Colorado: Implications of trail closures.
Few economic studies are available to measure off-highway vehicle recreation benefits foregone when trails must be closed to protect the environment. This paper estimates the non-market benefits associated with off-highway vehicle (OHV) recreation on National Forest lands in Larimer County, Colorado. We use a contingent valuation model (CVM) to estimate benefits to OHV users, which includes dirt bike riders, all terrain vehicle (ATV) riders, and 4-wheel drive (4x4) users. Using CVM we find the mean consumer surplus estimates to be $78 per person per day. These results are consistent with the few previous estimates of OHV recreation benefits. This equates to a per trail per summer consumer surplus of at least between $219,467 and $296,876, and a county level surplus per summer to be at least between $796,447 and $1,077,367. These benefits can be compared to environmental costs to obtain a more complete picture of the effects of trail closure, as well as the negative spillovers to non-motorized users.
Deisenroth
Daniel
D
Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1172, USA. deisen@lamar.colostate.edu
Loomis
John
J
Bond
Craig
C
D003120:Colorado; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D005382:Financing, Personal; D006801:Humans; D015541:Off-Road Motor Vehicles; D011998:Recreation / Q000191:economics*