A WILLINGNESS-TO-PAY FUNCTION FOR PROTECTING ACRES OF SPOTTED OWL HABITAT FROM FIRE

A contingent valuation survey was used to estimate the economic value to California and New England residents of implementing a fire managem ent plan to reduce acres of old growth forests that burn in California and Oregon. Using a random effects probit model to account for the pa nel nature of the data, the average willingness to pay to reduce catas trophic fire on 2570 acres was $56 per household. Since acreage of hab itat protected is a statistically significant variable in the willingn ess-to-pay function, this function can be used by managers to evaluate the incremental benefits of different fire management plans that redu ce additional acres burned. These benefits can serve as justification for funding of prescribed fire and fuel reduction programs to protect critical habitat of the Northern and California Spotted Owl. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.