Executive Summary

Ted Lee Eubanks, Jr.
President, Fermata Inc.
3011 N. Lamar, Suite 306
Austin, Texas 78705

Robert B. Ditton, Ph.D
Professor, Human Dimensions of Natural Resources
Texas A&M University
College Station, Texas

John R. Stoll, Ph.D
Professor, Public and Environmental Affairs (Economics)
University of Wisconsin
Green Bay, Wisconsin

As the Platte River in Nebraska begins its seasonal thaw, and the ice and snow retreat from the warmth of spring, one of the world's grand wildlife spectacles is unveiled in the river's shallows. Hundreds of thousands of migrant Sandhill Cranes crowd into the river, and for a few short weeks the waterway is transformed into an extraordinary theater-in-the-wild. Wildlife enthusiasts from around the world travel to the Platte to witness this remarkable event, and their presence contributes to the economies of those communities situated along the river and elsewhere in Nebraska.

As part of a United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) risk assessment of the Platte River in Nebraska, wildlife watchers along the Middle Platte River (between the communities of North Platte and Columbus) were surveyed in an effort to better understand their viewing behaviors and expenditures. Wildlife watching along the Platte River is generally limited to bird watching (birding), and survey efforts were concentrated on that specific recreation.

Surveys were mailed to 1,963 birdwatchers (birders) randomly selected from seven different mailing lists gathered from Nebraska organizations, sites, and events. Of the 1,963 surveys, 1,259 were returned in a usable form for a 64.42% raw response rate. The discarding of non-deliverables yielded an effective return rate of 69.56%. A random telephone check of non-respondents revealed no response bias.

The survey solicited information about the demographics, expenditures, motivations, and satisfaction rates of birders who visited the Middle Platte River Study Area (MPRSA). In addition, the study probed these recreationists' level of commitment for conserving wildlife habitat along the Platte, and evaluated the effectiveness of wildlife management regimes along the Platte River as they related to non-consumptive nature recreation interests. Finally, the survey attempted to determine the value birders placed on the Platte River and its wildlife resources.

Birding along the Platte River must be viewed within the context of shifting interests in outdoor recreation and tourism in the United States. In 1996, 62.8 million U.S. residents aged 16 years or older participated in a wildlife-watching activity (USDI 1997). The 1995 National Survey on Recreation and the Environment reported a 155.2% growth (to 54.1 million persons) in birding in the U.S. between 1982 and 1995 (NSRE 1996). Murdock (1997) has predicted that birding will be the only outdoor recreation in the U.S. with growth that will exceed that of the U.S. population between now and the year 2030. In fact, anecdotal evidence suggests that an increasing number of visitors from around the world are traveling to Nebraska to witness the annual gathering of Sandhill Cranes along the Platte River during their migration.

This survey revealed that a travel party of birders visiting the Platte during crane season consisted of 5.19 persons. These visitors stayed in the region for 2.99 days, and spent an average of $285 per person in Nebraska ($336 overall). Birders interviewed for this survey were attracted to the Platte throughout the year (not just during crane migration), averaging 3.5 trips and spending a total of $790.17 on their annual travels to and within the Middle Platte. In contrast, Nebraska Department of Economic Development (1996) has estimated that the average nonresident traveling party visiting Nebraska consists of 2.5 persons, stays in the state 2.2 nights, and spends $159.

Respondents had been birding for an average of 17.54 years, and had taken 7.34 birding trips for 30.91 days during the previous year. Nebraska birders traveled frequently and widely within their own state, but many birders who lived outside Nebraska visited only during crane migration. Platte River wildlife watchers resembled similar recreationists studied in other parts of the country regarding age (53), gender (balanced), income (over $50,000) and years of formal education (over 16 years).

Platte River visitors appeared to be more general nature enthusiasts than specialized birders. Only 10.7% considered themselves to be "committed." However, the respondents invested significantly in birding equipment, averaging $1,505 as measured by replacement cost.

To estimate the Total Gross Economic Output (TGO) of these expenditures, two separate multipliers (estimating induced and indirect impacts) were utilized. The Nebraska Department of Economic Development uses a multiplier of 2.7 to estimate the effects of tourism expenditures throughout the state. Jenkins and Konecny (1997), however, have developed a local input/output model (limited to the Middle Platte) that predicts a 1.9 economic multiplier for tourism within the study area. Applying these two Nebraska multipliers to the average annual expenditure within Nebraska of $671.72, an average respondent to the survey contributed (in direct, indirect, and induced expenditures) between $1,276 and $1,814 per year to the Nebraska economy. The cumulative TGO of birding along the Platte, regardless of where the expenditure had been made, ranged between $21.8 and $48.5 million.

Yet, in the above estimates there is no accounting for the economic contributions of single-day visitors, nor for Platte River wildlife watchers who did not visit the Platte during the crane season in 1996 (and therefore would have escaped the population estimate). Approximately 60,000 single-day visitors traveled to the Middle Platte during the crane season. Using the Nebraska Department of Economic Development’s spending estimate of $28.90 per day for single-day visitors, and applying the local and state multipliers, day-trippers generated an additional economic output of between $3.3 million and $4.7 million. With this additional contribution from single-day visitors, the TGO increased to between $25.1 million and $53. million. Of the dollars expended within the study area, 13.2% originated with residents (in other words, 13.2% of the dollars spent within the MPRSA came from visitors who lived within the area itself). Of the Nebraska expenditures, 23.6% originated with Nebraskans (Nebraskans contributed 23.6% of the dollars spent within the state).

Respondents indicated a willingness to pay an additional $192.75 annually before they would have cancelled their trips to and within the Middle Platte. Applying this to the Platte River birding population as a whole, consumer's surplus ranged between $2.8 million and $4.4 million. Combining consumer's surplus with the TGO of residents and nonresidents, the estimated total value of wildlife watching along the Platte River ranged between $27.9 million and $57.5 million.

The use of contingent valuation modeling established a significant relationship between hypothetical shifts in Sandhill Crane populations (species abundance) along the Platte River, and respondents' willingness to pay for their conservation. However, hypothetical changes in species diversity (species richness) did not influence willingness-to-pay in a significant manner. This study also revealed that the more avid the birder, the more likely the participant was to respond "yes" to the management scenario and bearing its price. Conversely, a respondent's higher perceived skill as a birder was negatively (and significantly) related to the willingness to bear management costs for a specific management scenario.

This research established a value for birding along the Platte River in Nebraska, and, by extension, demonstrated a (although not exclusive) value for the Platte River wildlife resources themselves. Respondents expressed a willingness to bear the cost for the conservation of Platte River wildlife, particularly Sandhill Cranes. The value these recreationists placed upon the Platte's wildlife resources would be expected to influence their future behavior. If opportunities for birding and wildlife watching along the Platte increased in the future, birders would be expected to respond with additional or more extended trips to the area. Conversely, if wildlife populations (particularly Sandhill Cranes) decreased, or birding opportunities became more restricted, the interest in traveling to the Platte River to bird would be expected to diminish. Any strategy to promote nature tourism along the Platte must be built upon a foundation of resource conservation and the expansion of recreational opportunities.