Table VIII-3-3— Guidelines for Assigning Points For Special Recreation— Continued 



' Value for water-oriented activities should be adjusted if significant seasonal water level changes occur. 



- Likelihood of success at fishing and hunting. 



^ Value should be adjusted for overuse. 



' Major esthetic qualities to be considered include geology and topography, water, and vegetation 



5 Factors to be considered to lowering quality include air and water pollution, pests, poor climate, and unsightly adjacent areas. 



(B) The unit day values to be used for both the 

 general and specialized recreation categories 

 should be further adjusted to reflect additional qual- 

 ity considerations expected to prevail at various 

 project sites in various regions of the Nation, and 

 weighted according to their importance to users. 

 For example, a reservoir that is expected to carry a 

 relatively heavy load of suspended silt or is expect- 

 ed to be used beyond optimum capacity would be 

 less desirable, and therefore of lower unit value, 

 than one that will have clear water and be less 

 crowded. 



(C) Hunting and fishing may be treated either as 

 general recreation (Table VIII-3-2) or specialized 

 recreation (Table VIII-3-3) depending upon whether 

 it is associated with developed areas or back coun- 

 try areas, respectively. In either case, the recreation 

 experience (criterion "a" in the tables) will be given 

 points according to the additional consideration of 

 the chances of success; the midpoint of the value 

 range is associated with the region's average catch 

 or bag. Other criteria may be modified if appropri- 

 ately based on available evidence about the prefer- 

 ences and willingness to pay of hunters and fisher- 

 men for different recreation quality factors. 



(D) The degree to which alternative nonproject 

 opportunities are available to users is also consid- 

 ered in the assignment of values. Higher values 

 should be assigned if the population to be served 

 does not have existing water-oriented recreation 

 opportunities. If water-oriented recreation opportuni- 

 ties are relatively abundant, as compared to other 

 outdoor recreation opportunities, lower unit values 

 should be assigned, even if a large number of visi- 

 tations are expected at the proposed development. 



(E) The choice of a unit day value must account 

 for transfers to avoid double counting of benefits. 

 The net value of a transfer of use from one site to 

 another is the difference in unit day values for rec- 

 reation at the two sites. If recreation activities at 

 the two sites are comparable, travel cost savings 

 are the only NED benefits associated with the 

 transfer. Use at the site must therefore be disag- 

 gregated according to the proportion of total esti- 

 mated use that would not have occurred without 

 the project and the proportion of total use that rep- 

 resents transfers from existing sites. The respective 

 types of uses must then be assigned different daily 

 values as indicated. 



(iii) Establishing specific values within each 

 range. Unit values selected are to be considered 



86 



