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Economics Unit

The Economic Value of Forest Characteristics in the Southern Appalachian Mountains

Investigators:

Thomas Holmes, Southern Research Station
Robert Mendelsohn, Yale University
Linwood Pendleton, University of Southern California
Brent Sohngen, Ohio State University

Description:

Faced with increasing demand for outdoor recreation and environmental awareness, public land managers need methods to assess the value of the environmental consequences of alternative management decisions. Both with managed lands and wildlands, alternative management strategies lead to different outcomes which affect the recreational value of the land. A tool that measures the economic value of environmental quality is critical to the optimal management of these areas.

To operationalize the examination of environmental quality, we employ the hedonic travel cost method to estimate the recreational value of forest attributes in U.S. Forest Service wilderness areas in the southeastern United States. Trip data were collected using wilderness permits for 4778 visitors to 46 trails in 20 different forest areas. Data on forest attributes were collected every 0.20 miles along ecological transects (trails). Results indicate that proximity of urban areas to forests influences marginal values for key forest attributes.

Problem Area(s): Public involvement
Status: Completed

Products:

Pendleton, Linwood; Sohngen, Brent; Mendelsohn, Robert; Holmes, Thomas. 1998. Measuring environmental quality in the Southern Appalachian Mountains. Forest Science (forthcoming).

Holmes, Thomas; Pendleton, Linwood; Sohngen, Brent; Mendelsohn, Robert. 1998. Economic value of ecosystem attributes in the Southern Appalachian Highlands. In: Cordell, H. Ken, ed. Integrating Social Science and Ecosystem Management: A National Challenge: Proceedings of the Conference on Integrating Social Sciences and Ecosystem Management; 1995 December 12-14: Helen, GA: 187-190.

modified: 13-MAR-2000
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