Estimating the public benefits of protecting forest quality

Abstract

The results of this case study provide an empirical test and confirmation of the hypothesis that the general population is willing to pay for the protection of forest quality. In addition to recreational use, people value the option of having access to forest quality in the future, the knowledge of its existence, and its bequest to future generations. The paper demonstrates how further inquiry into the subject of public benefit could contribute to the problem of measuring the total value of forest quality. © 1990.