The Economic Value of Water and Ecosystem Preservation

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used to walk in here and ask, ‘which way is the beach?’ Now people ask me, ‘where can I find the birds?’” Port Aransas holds the “Annual Celebration of Whooping Cranes and Other Birds” during winter months when whooping cranes are present. The visitors to the festival can choose to take tours (on land or by boat) to view whooping cranes as well as other birds and wildlife or attend workshops and educational seminars (Port Aransas Chamber of Commerce, 2005). These birding festivals may last only for a few days but can have large local economic impacts. Every September, the city of Rockport hosts the “Hummer/Bird Celebration” in honor of the thousands of hummingbirds that stage along the coast before migrating across the Gulf of Mexico. Along with hummingbird-related activities such as banding and habitat restoration, the festival offers opportunities to visit other birding locations via boat and bus tours, as well as dragonfly and butterfly identification workshops and other activities relating to ecotourism (Hummer/Bird Celebration Committee, 2004). According to the Rockport-Fulton Chamber of Commerce, between 5,000 and 10,000 ecotourists visit the four-day Hummer/Bird Festival annually (Ridgely, 2005). A survey sent to festival attendees in 1995 determined that approximately 4,500 nonresident visitors to the festival contributed $1.1 million to the local community (Kim, Scott et al., 1998). The Chamber of Commerce speculates that the total direct expenditure during the festival is much higher today because four “major properties” have been constructed, allowing more visitors to attend. During the festival, there are no hotel vacancies in town. A 1999 study by Eubanks and Stoll of travelers along the central portion of the Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail found that on average, travelers spent 31 days per year viewing wildlife on the trail. Their most recent trip lasted 8.71 days and 7.55 nights. Only 4.6% of the travelers along the trail were residents within the region. The typical traveler was 60 years old, college-educated, traveling with a spouse or friend, and had a household income of more than $60,000 a year. These visitors have a large economic impact, and spend an average of $981.99 per person ($683.91 within the region, $197.90 within Texas but out of the region, and an additional $100.19 out of state) on travel-related expenditures in their most recent trip. This translates into expenditures of $78.52 per person/day along the Texas coast and results in a direct expenditure of $2,452 over the course of a year (Eubanks and Stoll, 1999). This amount is greater than the value of $35.24 per person/day that was determined by evaluating the results of seven studies of participation in non-consumptive wildlife-viewing activities, including birding (See Figure 3-2) (Walsh, Johnson et al., 1988). 26
Table 3-2. Average Willingness to Pay by Activity (2002 Dollars) Activity Average Value per Activity Day ($) 27 Number of Studies Evaluated Camping 30.95 18 Picnicking 27.51 7 Swimming 36.46 11 Hiking 46.16 6 Non-motorized Boating 77.27 11 Non-consumptive Wildlife 35.24 7 Source: Walsh, Johnson and McKean (1988) Unfortunately, it is impossible determine the total economic impact that visitors to the Birding Trail have on the region because there is no way to count them. Sandi Ridgely, Director of Tourism and Events at the Rockport-Fulton Chamber of Commerce noted, “It’s difficult to determine the number of birders who come here to use the Trail. They just come here and do their thing. They don’t stop by the visitor’s center to be counted (Ridgely, 2005).” The Gulf Coast Bird Observatory and TPWD sponsor the “Great Texas Birding Classic,” along the Coastal Birding Trail. The Classic is a five-day competitive birdwatching tournament held each year in April to coincide with spring bird migration along the Gulf Coast. It utilizes the full length of the Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail and is considered the “biggest, longest, and wildest” birding tournament in the US. The purpose of the Birding Classic is to help “increase appreciation, understanding and conservation of birds along the Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail through education, recreation, nature tourism and conservation fundraising (Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, 2005a).” In 2004, there were 288 participants, which represented an 87 percent increase over 2001. Although 91 percent of the 322 participants in 2003 were Texans, 9 percent came from 16 other states. In previous years, it has drawn international participation as well (Hudgins, 2005). A 1984 contingent valuation survey attempted to estimate the non-market value of whooping cranes and concluded that their value (including current use, anticipated future use and non-use value) ranged from $1 billion to $1.5 billion dollars annually for U.S. residents. This value does not “consider expenditures for tour boat rides and travel or indirect impacts of such expenditures (Stoll and Johnson, 1984).” Along with wildlife watching and birding, there are other forms of ecotourism activities that rely on healthy rivers and Bays. One organized boating event that makes use of ideal boating conditions along the Guadalupe River is the Texas
Page 1 and 2: Final Report to the Texas Coastal M
Page 3 and 4: 5.2.2. Sources / Data .............
Page 5 and 6: Executive Summary The San Antonio B
Page 7 and 8: ecotourism included in the model. T
Page 9 and 10: 1. Overview of San Antonio Bay Regi
Page 11 and 12: and shellfish species and estuarine
Page 13 and 14: According to the Rockport-Fulton Ch
Page 15 and 16: effect is limited by assimilative c
Page 17 and 18: freshwater inflow acts as a mechani
Page 19 and 20: sulfide. Heavy metals bounds to sed
Page 21 and 22: inflow levels and populations of se
Page 23 and 24: and could potentially make the cran
Page 25 and 26: 3. Characterization of Ecotourism i
Page 27 and 28: Contributes actively to the conserv
Page 29 and 30: Figure 3-1. Public Protected Areas
Page 31 and 32: 1987 and then purchased in 1991. Pr
Page 33: 3.3.2. The Economics of Multiple Na
Page 37 and 38: Table 3-3. Personal Income and Prod
Page 39 and 40: impact. It is necessary to conduct
Page 41 and 42: 4.2. Key Site Details for the Analy
Page 43 and 44: approach allows examination of ques
Page 45 and 46: This average number of trips from t
Page 47 and 48: occasional flood and drought events
Page 49 and 50: The results of the regression yield
Page 51 and 52: gallons, which results in a value o
Page 53 and 54: Aransas distinguishes itself from C
Page 55 and 56: thresholds vary according the size
Page 57 and 58: The total number of full-time and p
Page 59 and 60: The County also shows a lower educa
Page 61 and 62: Refugio shows a rapid decrease in t
Page 63 and 64: IM t+ n ic = E t ic ⎡⎛ E × ⎢
Page 65 and 66: included an economic analysis of th
Page 67 and 68: Table 5-5. Employment Shift-Share A
Page 69 and 70: Fishing and related activities. The
Page 71 and 72: Figure 5-15. Employment change by s
Page 73 and 74: 5.3.2. Input-Output Analysis The in
Page 75 and 76: Calhoun Calhoun County’s experien
Page 77 and 78: an advantage, particularly in oyste
Page 79 and 80: Impacts on the Freshwater Inflows t
Page 81 and 82: However, due to the lack of consist
Page 83 and 84: This implicitly assumes that flows
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for fresh product. This fishery wil
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Elliot, D. (2007). Competitive Adva
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Pearce, D. W. (1994). The MIT Dicti
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The Nature Conservancy. (2002). "Na
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