Benefit Transfer of Outdoor Recreation Use Values RANDALL S ROSENBERGER AND JOHN B LOOMIS JOHN F DWYER DAVID J NOWAK MARY HEATHER NOBLE AND SUSAN M SISINNI A Technical Document Supporting the Forest Service Strategic Plan 2000 Revision U S DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FOREST SERVICE Abstract Rosenberger Randall S Loomis John B 2001 Benefit transfer of outdoor recreation use values A technical document supporting the Forest Service Strategic Plan 2000 revision Gen Tech Rep RMRS GTR 72 Fort Collins CO U S Department of Agriculture Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station 59 p We present an annotated bibliography that provides information on and reference to the literature on outdoor recreation use valuation studies This information is presented by study source benefit measures recreation activity valuation methodology and USDA Forest Service region Tables are provided that reference the bibliography for each activity enabling easy location of studies The literature review spans 1967 to 1998 and covers 21 recreation activities plus a category for wilderness recreation There are 163 individual studies referenced providing 760 benefit measures Guidelines are provided for applying the various benefit transfer methods Benefit transfer is the use of past empirical benefit estimates to assess and analyze current management and policy actions Several theoretical and empirical issues to applying benefit transfers are identified for use in judging the relevance and credibility of transferring specific measures Four benefit transfer models are discussed including value transfers single point estimates average values and function transfers demand and benefit functions and meta analysis benefit function A simple example application is followed throughout the discussion of the various benefit transfer methods A decision tree is provided as a framework for determining how to obtain benefit measures for recreation activities Keywords Benefit transfer meta analysis outdoor recreation use values Authors Randall S Rosenberger is Assistant Professor Regional Research Institute and Division of Resource Management West Virginia University Morgantown WV 26506 John B Loomis is Professor Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics Colorado State University Fort Collins CO 80523 You may order additional copies of this publication by sending your mailing information in label form through one of the following media Please specify the publication title and number Telephone 970 498 1392 FAX 970 498 1396 E mail Available on the Web Mailing Address rschneider fs fed us http www fs fed us rm Publications Distribution Rocky Mountain Research Station 240 West Prospect Road Fort Collins CO 80526 Final Report for the USDA Forest Service under Research Joint Venture Agreement RMRS98132 RJVA Theories and methods for measuring environmental values and modeling consumer and policy decision processes Objective 4 Benefit transfer Benefit Transfer of Outdoor Recreation Use Values A Technical Document Supporting the Forest Service Strategic Plan 2000 Revision Randall S Rosenberger John B Loomis Contents Executive Summary 1 Acknowledgments 1 Introduction 2 Data 2 Literature Review Efforts Past and Present 2 Data Sources and Coding Procedures 3 Benefit Transfer Issues 3 What Is a Benefit Transfer 3 Conditions for Performing Benefit Transfers 4 Potential Limitations of Benefit Transfers 5 Validity and Reliability of Benefit Transfers 6 Benefit Transfer Methods 6 Benefit Estimates 7 What Are They and What Do They Mean 7 How Are the Study Site Values Estimated 8 Benefit Transfer Methods and Application 9 Value Transfers 9 Benefit Function Transfers 14 Recommendations and Guidance to Field Users 24 References Cited 26 Appendix A Annotated Bibliography of Outdoor Recreation Use Valuation Studies 1967 to 1998 28 Appendix B Summary of Multi Estimate Studies in Appendix A Annotated Bibliography 44 Appendix C References to Appendix A Annotated Bibliography Entries by Recreation Activity 55 Executive Summary Executive Summary This document serves four purposes 1 it provides access to the literature on recreation use values 2 it provides guidelines for conducting benefit transfers 3 it provides a review of benefit transfer approaches and 4 it provides a meta analysis of the recreation use value literature for use in benefit transfers Benefit transfer is the application of data from a study site to a policy site A study site is a place for which we have recreation value data collected through primary research Primary research provides content and context specific estimates of recreation value for a site A policy site is a place for which there is little or no data available on the economic value of recreation When circumstances such as insufficient funding or time make primary research infeasible benefit transfer provides a means by which the value of recreation at an unstudied site can be estimated using information about recreation values at other sites Benefit transfer provides content and context relevant estimates of recreation value for policy sites Access to the outdoor recreation use value literature is provided via an annotated bibliography and crossreferencing of studies by recreation activity The literature reviewed is comprised of outdoor recreation use value studies conducted from 1967 to 1998 in the United States and Canada This includes 760 value measures estimated from 163 separate empirical research efforts covering 21 recreation activities Guidance is provided by identifying necessary conditions for and limitations to effective benefit transfers Necessary conditions include issues concerning policy site needs the quality of study site data and the correspondence between the study site and the policy site Several factors can affect benefit transfers and limit the accuracy of value estimation These factors are categorized as data issues methodological issues site correspondence issues temporal issues and spatial issues A decision tree is developed that guides field personnel and resource managers through a framework on how to obtain measures of recreation use value Four benefit transfer approaches are reviewed An example application of each of the approaches is provided Value transfers focus on measures of value The use of single point measures and measures of central USDA Forest Service Gen Tech Rep RMRS GTR 72 2001 tendency for recreation values are discussed Function transfers focus on statistical models