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The Non-market Value of Birding Sites and the Marginal Value of Additional Species: Biodiversity in a Random Utility Model of Site Choice by eBird Members

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  • Kolstoe, Sonja
  • Cameron, Trudy Ann

Abstract

The eBird database is the product of a huge citizen science project at the Cornell University Laboratory of Ornithology. Members report their birding excursions both their destinations and the numbers and types of birds they observe on each trip. Based on home address information, we calculate travel costs for each birder for trips to alternative birding hotspots. We focus on the Pacific Northwest U.S. (Washington and Oregon states). Many birders are “listers” who seek to maximize the cumulative number of species they have been able to see, and each hotspot is characterized by the number of bird species expected to be present. In a random utility model of destination site choice, we allow for seasonal as well as random heterogeneity in the marginal utility per bird species. For this population of birders, marginal WTP for an additional bird species is highest in June when birds are in their mating-season plumage (at more than $3 per species per trip). Total WTP for a birding outing also depends on other site attributes (including ecological management regime, the possible presence of endangered bird species, urban/rural location, ecological region and relative congestion/popularity). Evidence of variety-seeking can also be discerned in birders' destination choices.

Suggested Citation

  • Kolstoe, Sonja & Cameron, Trudy Ann, 2017. "The Non-market Value of Birding Sites and the Marginal Value of Additional Species: Biodiversity in a Random Utility Model of Site Choice by eBird Members," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 1-12.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:137:y:2017:i:c:p:1-12
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2017.02.013
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    7. Liang, Yuanning & Rudik, Ivan & Zou, Eric Yongchen, 2021. "Economic Production and Biodiversity in the United States," SocArXiv qy76a, Center for Open Science.
    8. Kolstoe, Sonja H. & Kline, Jeffrey D. & Lohr, Luanne, 2022. "Economic Approaches for Managing Migratory Bird Habitat Across Multi-Owner Landscapes," Western Economics Forum, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 20(1), May.
    9. Kolstoe, Sonja & Naald, Brian Vander & Cohan, Alison, 2022. "A tale of two samples: Understanding WTP differences in the age of social media," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).
    10. Tianle Liu & Li Ma & Linsong Cheng & Yilei Hou & Yali Wen, 2021. "Is Ecological Birdwatching Tourism a More Effective Way to Transform the Value of Ecosystem Services?—A Case Study of Birdwatching Destinations in Mingxi County, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(23), pages 1-17, November.
    11. Warnell, Katherine J.D. & Russell, Marc & Rhodes, Charles & Bagstad, Kenneth J. & Olander, Lydia P. & Nowak, David J. & Poudel, Rajendra & Glynn, Pierre D. & Hass, Julie L. & Hirabayashi, Satoshi & In, 2020. "Testing ecosystem accounting in the United States: A case study for the Southeast," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).
    12. Johnston, Alison & Moran, Nick & Musgrove, Andy & Fink, Daniel & Baillie, Stephen R., 2020. "Estimating species distributions from spatially biased citizen science data," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 422(C).
    13. Heagney, E.C. & Rose, J.M. & Ardeshiri, A. & Kovac, M., 2019. "The economic value of tourism and recreation across a large protected area network," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    14. Rachel Dolan & James M. Bullock & Julia P. G. Jones & Ioannis N. Athanasiadis & Javier Martinez-Lopez & Simon Willcock, 2021. "The Flows of Nature to People, and of People to Nature: Applying Movement Concepts to Ecosystem Services," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-18, May.
    15. Gellman, Jacob & Walls, Margaret A. & Wibbenmeyer, Matthew, 2023. "Welfare Losses from Wildfire Smoke: Evidence from Daily Outdoor Recreation Data," RFF Working Paper Series 23-31, Resources for the Future.
    16. Maria Salvo & Giuseppe Cucuzza & Giovanni Signorello, 2022. "Using discrete choice experiments to explore how bioecological attributes of sites drive birders’ preferences and willingness to travel," Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Springer;Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - SEEPS, vol. 24(2), pages 119-146, April.
    17. Trudy Ann Cameron & Sonja H. Kolstoe, 2022. "Using Auxiliary Population Samples for Sample-Selection Correction in Models Based on Crowd-Sourced Volunteered Geographic Information," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 98(1), pages 1-21.
    18. David J Lewis & Steven J Dundas & David M Kling & Daniel K Lew & Sally D Hacker, 2019. "The non-market benefits of early and partial gains in managing threatened salmon," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(8), pages 1-15, August.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Biodiversity; Birds; Citizen science; RUM site choice; Revealed preference;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q57 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Ecological Economics
    • Q51 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Valuation of Environmental Effects
    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming

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