| Abstract: |
Over 90 percent of people living in the United States participate in some type
of outdoor recreation, from walking the dog to rock climbing. These activities
increase a person’s well-being and are examples of recreation benefits. These
benefits can be measured by using a variety of available techniques to
calculate consumer surplus values. Consumer surplus values for recreation in
U.S. parks were collated from an extensive literature review. Studies
conducted between 1967 and 2003 yielded over 1,200 observations of non-market
benefits. From this meta-analysis, it was determined that an average day of
recreation in U.S. parks provide people with a non-market benefit of
$60.50/day (2006 US$). With an estimated 924 million visitor days, the benefit
of outdoor recreation on federal park lands during 2006 was estimated at $54.7
billion dollars. This analysis did not include state, county, and city parks,
and hence the total benefit of outdoor recreation in all U.S. parks would be
significantly higher. |