Species-specific wildlife recreation demand

Abstract

The wildlife valuation literature largely focuses on eliciting willingness-to-pay for wildlife conservation, not recreation, and frequently groups species together under the banner of “wildlife”. This study employs the contingent valuation method to value the likelihood of viewing specific wildlife in Grand Teton National Park (GTNP). We estimate willingness-to-pay (WTP) and willingness-to-accept (WTA) for species-specific recreation trips to explore substitutability between popular wildlife species. Estimates across species better equip wildlife managers to balance the inherent tradeoffs associated with climate impacts on habitats and populations as well as changing interests among recreationists.