Estimating the value of hunting licenses : a case study of Colorado elk permits

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis was to develop a method of assessing the marginal value of limited elk hunting licenses in Colorado. The measure of marginal value constructed used hunters' opportunity costs of securing these licenses, and it does not rely on travel costs or surveys. The statistical inquiry used both ordinary least squares and the ordered pro bit procedure to measure hunters' marginal willingness-to-pay for various hunting characteristics. The results imply that higher demand for licenses is closely linked to unmeasured quality variables and that efficiency and revenue to the Colorado Division of Wildlife could be increased by reallocating hunting licenses from marginally lower valued characteristics to marginally-higher ones if reallocation is not costly.