Aaron J. Douglas

The Economic Value of Trinity River Water

The Trinity River, largest tributary of the Klamath River, has its headwaters in the Trinity Alps of north-central California. After the construction of Trinity Dam in 1963, 90% of the Trinity River flow at Lewiston was moved to the Sacramento River via the Clear Creek Tunnel, a manmade conduit. Hydropower is produced at four installations along the route of Trinity River water that is diverted to the Sacramento River, and power production at three of these installations would diminish if no Trinity River water were diverted to the Sacramento River. After Trinity River water reaches the Sacramento River, it flows toward the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and San Francisco Bay. Trinity River water is pumped via Bureau of Reclamation canals and pumps to the northern San Joaquin Valley, where it is used for irrigated agriculture. The social cost of putting more water down the Trinity River is the sum of the value of the foregone consumer surplus from hydropower production as well as the value of the foregone i...

A new model for the travel cost method: the total expenses approach

Abstract This paper discusses the empirical and theoretical underpinnings of the travel cost method (TCM) for estimating nonmarket benefits at an outdoor recreation site. The conventional TCM model is simple to use and provides results that are easy to interpret. However, it does not describe the actual behavior of recreationists as they purchase goods and services for the purpose of making trips to an outdoor recreation site. There is an alternative model that is more congruent with the empirical behavior of recreationists. This model is called the multi-commodity or total expenses TCM model. The total expenses model can also be used to estimate the nonmarket benefits provided by trips to an outdoor recreation site. Moreover, the total expenses model can be derived from the conventional basic postulates of utility maximization. Our purpose in delineating the total expenses model is not to replace the conventional model, but to provide an alternative model. We apply this model to survey data gathered from Trinity River recreationists, and estimate annual nonmarket benefits conferred from recreation activities of US

Riverine based eco-tourism: Trinity River non-market benefits estimates

406 million.

Diversifying natural resources value measurements: The Trinity River study

SUMMARY Californias Central Valley Project (CVP) was approved by voters in a statewide referendum in 1933. CVP referendum approval initiated funding for construction of important water development projects that had far reaching effects on regional water supplies. The construction of Trinity Dam in 1963 and the subsequent transbasin diversion of Trinity River flow was one of several CVP projects that had noteworthy adverse environmental and regional economic impacts. The Trinity River is the largest tributary of the Klamath River, and has its headwaters in the Trinity Alps of north-central California. After the construction of Trinity Dam in 1963, 90% of the Trinity River flow at Lewiston was moved to the Sacramento River via the Clear Creek Tunnel. Before 1963, the Trinity River was a major recreation resource of Northern California. The loss of stream flow has had a marked adverse impact on Trinity River-related recreation activities and the size and robustness of Trinity River salmon, steelhead, shad, ...

Lake Powell Management Alternatives and Values: CVM Estimates of Recreation Benefits

An interdisciplinary team set out to establish the economic and social values of the Trinity River in northern California . This information was intended to support the Secretary of the Interiors decision on allocation of Trinity River flows . This team set out to measure the values of Trinity River flows , fishery resources , and rec reation amenities in several different ways . A survey was mailed to users of the Trinity River . This single instrument included economic measures ( willingness - to pay and costs incurred in visiting ) and social - psychological measures ( importance , satisfaction , and water allocation preferences ). A closely related survey measured several of these same values among west coast regional households . The results of these surveys were compiled , and the measured economic and social values were compared . We found that integrating economic and social value information pro vides a greater depth of understanding of the resources value . In addition , this integration provi...

Resource management and nonmarket valuation research

Abstract This paper presents data analyses based on information gathered from a recreation survey distributed during the spring of 1997 at Lake Powell. Recreation-linked management issues are the foci of the survey and this discussion. Survey responses to contingent valuation method (CVM) queries included in the questionnaire quantify visitor recreation values. The CVM estimates of the benefits provided by potential resource improvements are compared with the costs of the improvements in a benefit-cost analysis. The CVM questions covered three resources management issues including water quality improvement, sport fish harvest enhancement, and archeological site protection and restoration. The estimated benefits are remarkably high relative to the costs and range from

Balancing Hydropower and Environmental Values: The Resource Management Implications of the US Electric Consumers Protection Act and the AWARE(TM) Software

6 to

Balancing hydropower and environmental values: A review of the AWARE™ software

60 million per year. The dichotomous choice format was used in each of three resource CVM question scenarios. There were two levels of enhancement for each resource. There are, therefore, several consistency requirements—some of them unique to the dichotomous choice format—that the data and benefit estimates must satisfy. These consistency tests are presented in detail in the ensuing analysis.

Empirical evidence for large nonmarket values for water resources: TCM benefits estimates for Lake Powell.

Survey based nonmarket valuation research is often regarded as economics research. However, resource economists need to be aware of and acknowledge the manifold information sources that they employ in order to enhance the policy credibility of their studies. Communication between resource economists and practitioners of allied disciplines including chemistry, civil engineering, sociology, and anthropology are often neglected. Recent resource allocation policy debates have given rise to an extensive discussion of methodological issues that narrow the scope of the subject. The present paper provides a format for the presentation of nonmarket valuation research results that emphasizes the manifold links between economics studies that employ different methodologies to estimate nonmarket resource values. A more robust emphasis on the interlocking features of the different approaches for estimating nonmarket benefits should foster appreciation of the transdisciplinary aspects of the subject.

The travel cost method and the economic value of leisure time

This paper reviews the AWARE(TM) software distributed by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). The program is designed to facilitate the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) license renewal process for US hydropower installations. The discussion reviews the regulatory, legal, and social contexts that give rise to the creation and distribution of AWARE(TM). The principal legal impetus for AWARE(TM) is the Electric Consumer Protection Act (ECPA) of 1986 that directs FERC to give equal consideration to power and non-power resources during relicensing. The software is reviewed in this paper from several perspectives including those of natural resource economics, systems modeling, and the social context within which FERC licensing decisions are made. We examine both the software and its underlying methodology and find significant problems with each. Because of its flaws, AWARE(TM) does little to further ECPAs equal consideration requirement. We find that the conservation and restoration impact of ECPA for US fisheries could be seriously hampered by the widespread use of AWARE(TM).