fishermen. Fifty-four percent, or 19,271 of the surveys were 

 returned. In addition, a supplemental survey was administer- 

 ed to obtain socio-economic data from approximately 2,000 

 fishermen. All data were then analyzed to estimate fishing 

 pressure, net economic values (willingness to pay) , and 

 actual expenditures by fishermen on the major fishing 

 streams and lakes in Montana. 



The net economic value for the Clark Fork and other 

 important Montana rivers is shown in Table 2-22. The value 

 per day multiplied by fishing pressure provides estimated 

 annual site value. The site values for the Clark Fork 

 mainstem indicate the upper Clark Fork is valued at about 

 one-half the middle river. The lower river value is the 

 highest, but data for this segment include tributary data 

 that undoubtedly influenced the results. 



The upper Clark Fork is valued at a fraction of the more 

 popular fishing streams such as the Big Hole, Bitterroot, and 

 Blackfoot. The sum total value of stream fishing in the 

 Clark Fork Basin is estimated to be approximately $8.1 

 million. Lake fishing in the basin was estimated to be worth 

 an additional $2.6 million. The authors of the economic 

 evaluation consider these values to be highly conservative 

 but useful measures of the relative economic importance of 

 sport fishing in Montana. 



TABLE 2-22. 



NET ECONOMIC VALUE OF THE CLARK FORK 

 AND SELECTED MONTANA RIVERS 



Stream 



Value/ Day 



Site Value 

 (in thousands 

 of dollars) 



Lower Clark Fork (includes tribs.) 

 Middle Clark Fork (mainstem) 

 Upper Clark Fork (mainstem) 



Bitterroot (mainstem) 

 Blackfoot (mainstem) 

 Rock Creek (mainstem) 



Madison 

 Big Hole 



State Total 



$57,081 



Source: Duf field et al. 1987. 



2-40 



