An Economic Valuation of South Dakota Wetlands as a Recreation Resource for Resident Hunters

Abstract

Economic valuation questionnaires were mailed to a one percent random sample of the 1982 licensed resident hunters in South Dakota. Responses to willingness-to-pay (consumers' surplus) questions were used to measure the monetary value of South Dakota wetlands as a recreational resource for resident hunters. The total consumers' surplus value for waterfowl, upland, big game, and predator hunting on wetland habitats in South Dakota during 1982 was estimated to be $34 million. Consumers' surplus estimates were discounted at the social discount rate and converted to values per square hectare of wetland. The average discounted value of $813 per ha of wetland compared favorably with reclaimed wetlands used for agriculture in two of the state's three geographic regions.