What’s the Value of Recreational Uses of the Land vs Extractive Industries?
By Tom Chandler on Aug 2, 2007 in Environment
With stream access issues bubbling up all over fly fishing, it’s clear that winning those battles would be a teensy bit easier if we could quantify the economic value of that access — and our sport.
That’s why this post from Tom Mangan’s Two-Heel Drive blog caught my eye — it’s about a just-released study that attempts to quantify the value of recreational opportunities vs extractive industries.
Titled “The New Economy of the West: From Clear-cutting to Camping”, the report isn’t something you’ll sit down and read every night, but it does offer some ammunition for those of us tired of getting steamrollered:
The economy of the West has undergone a transformation, from relying on logging, mining, and oil, to relying on the unspoiled landscapes and abundant wildlife that support recreation and tourism. It’s time to change the way we think about our western public lands. If we protect them now, they will provide a powerful economic asset for generations to come.
When some fool wanted to build a hydroelectric plant on the South Fork of the Upper Sacramento, I looked long and hard for ways to quantify the economic value of the local tourist industry vs the minuscule economic value of the proposed dam.
Fortunately, that yahoo went away, but if it’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that there’s an endless supply of Nestles yahoos out there.
[tags]value of recreation, outdoor recreation[/tags]
kbarton10 | Aug 3, 2007 | Reply
This issue exists on many levels. All you have to do is watch the finest farmland in California slowly get paved over, to wonder about the sense of it all.
Walmart may be saving me money, but their parking lot could feed a couple hundred people if they removed the pavement.
be | Aug 20, 2007 | Reply
and think of the money saved ! most extractive use of public land is state and federally subsidized heavily. how often do you suppose the public treasury gets anywhere near market value for our trees industry takes, the forage grazed, or any resources extracted ? the public often pays for the roads, fences, and much infrustructure as well… good post & great report !
Tom Chandler | Aug 21, 2007 | Reply
Good points from both posts. In CA, the usually water-related “Save the family farm” cry often really means “More, cheaper water for a medium-to-large sized corporation!”
Big Ag has become more adept at growing subsidies, tax breaks and free infrastructure than it has at growing food, and nowhere is that more obvious than in the central valley.