title: The economics of roadside bear viewing.
abstract: Viewing bears along roadside habitats is a popular recreational activity in certain national parks throughout the United States. However, safely managing visitors during traffic jams that result from this activity often requires the use of limited park resources. Using unique visitor survey data, this study quantifies economic values associated with roadside bear viewing in Yellowstone National Park, monetary values that could be used to determine whether this continued use of park resources is warranted on economic grounds. Based on visitor expenditure data and results of a contingent visitation question, it is estimated that summer Park visitation would decrease if bears were no longer allowed to stay along roadside habitats, resulting in a loss of 155 jobs in the local economy. Results from a nonmarket valuation survey question indicate that on average, visitors to Yellowstone National Park are willing to pay around $41 more in Park entrance fees to ensure that bears are allowed to remain along roads within the Park. Generalizing this value to the relevant population of visitors indicates that the economic benefits of allowing this wildlife viewing opportunity to continue could outweigh the costs of using additional resources to effectively manage these traffic jams.
authors.affiliation: U.S. Geological Survey, Fort Collins Science Center, Policy Analysis & Science Assistance Branch, 2150 Centre Avenue, Bldg. C, Fort Collins, CO 80526, USA. Electronic address: lrichardson@usgs.gov.
authors.forename: Leslie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Richardson
authors.affiliation: Panthera, 8 West 40th #18th Floor, New York, NY 10018, USA. Electronic address: trosen@panthera.org.
authors.forename: Tatjana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Rosen
authors.affiliation: National Park Service, Yellowstone National Park, Bear Management Office, USA. Electronic address: Kerry_Gunther@nps.gov.
authors.forename: Kerry
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gunther
authors.affiliation: U.S. Geological Survey, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team, 2327 University Way, Suite 2, Bozeman, MT 59715, USA.
authors.forename: Chuck
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Schwartz
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003625:Data Collection; D006801:Humans; D011998:Recreation / Q000191:economics*; D001503:Ursidae; D014959:Wyoming
keywords: Bears; Contingent valuation method; Economic impact analysis; Nonmarket valuation; Wildlife viewing