ECONOMIC AMENITY VALUES OF WILDLIFE - 6 CASE-STUDIES IN PENNSYLVANIA

The travel cost method (TCM) and contingent valuation method (CVM) wer e used to evaluate the economic value of six different ecotourism acti vities involving observation of wildlife in Pennsylvania. The six acti vities were: catch-and-release trout fishing; catch-and-release trout fishing with fly-fishing equipment; viewing waterfowl; watching elk; o bserving migration flights of raptors; and seeing live wildlife in an environmental education setting. TCM results provided significant stat istical relationships between level of use and travel costs for the tw o types of trout fishing activities. CVM provided estimates of consume r surplus for the other four sites. The consumers' surplus value (1988 dollars) of all six activities to participants amounted to a total of more than $1.28 million annually-twice the total out-of-pocket expend itures of approximately $640,000 spent to visit the sites. The economi c amenity values of the six activities compare favorably with similarl y derived values in other studies for hunting, fishing, hiking, and ba ckpacking in dispersed recreation environments and wilderness areas in western states.