Environmental resources such as wilderness areas, plant or animal species, and visibility are public goods yielding benefits which may be broadly classified as use and non-use. For example, in the case of a remote wilderness area some people intend to visit it, and they will enjoy a use benefit. Others are not certain they will ever visit the area, but nonetheless wish to keep that option open. Still others derive a benefit from simply knowing the wilderness area exists. These option and existence values represent categories of non-use values. The Grand Canyon is a good example of a resource which gives rise to all three categories of values. The sum of the use, option, and existence values represents the total value of the environmental amenity. It is important to identify the individual components, not only the total value of these amenities. Such identification is important to ensuring consistency of measurement as well as to address questions of the appropriate means to fund the provision, protection and preservation of these amenities. It is fairly well understood how to properly measure the benefit to direct users (use value). However, there is much less agreement concerning the measurement of non-use (option and existence) values. The purpose of this project is to conduct a series of laboratory experiments designed to measure these three benefit components associated with environmental amenities. The study will provide estimates of the bounds on the values arising from existence and option component of total value. This research is important because increasing stress on the natural environment is causing public policy to focus on issues associated with the preservation environmental assets. Further, the courts have seen fit to include non-use values in environmental damage cases. Thus, there is a need to develop methods for accurate measurement of non-use values.
