Recreation and protection values of Port Renfrew old-growth forests

In recent years, there has been intense pressure for alternative old growth management that better reflects diverse public interests. To make equitable decisions regarding old growth management, information is needed about how the public values the services provided by the forests. This research aims to provide dollar estimates of public values for changes in old growth recreation opportunities, old growth protection, and jobs at a Port Renfrew study site on Vancouver Island. A discrete choice experiment administered with a web survey elicited public preferences for alternative old growth management at the study site. Multinomial logit and latent class models of the survey data demonstrate the public has positive and statistically significant values for increases in old growth protection, recreational sites in old growth forests with giant trees, and study area jobs. The results are expressed as both public willingness to pay (in dollars) for the increases as well as public support for hypothetical alternative management programs.