of value. To this end, researchers have identified six areas 

 that are critical in developing sound CVM questions: 1) target 

 population, 2) product definition, in this case mountain lion 

 hunting, 3) payment vehicle, 4) question format, 5) method of 

 analysis and 6) supplemental data. While most of these areas are 

 straightforward, it is important that the payment vehicle chosen 

 is realistic and emotionally neutral. 



Estimation of Net Economic Value using Dichotomous Choice CVM 



The Montana Mountain Lion Hunting Survey utilized a dichotomous 

 choice format to value lion hunting. Although the analysis of 

 the data is more complex than the other question formats 

 discussed, the advantages of this method - high response rate, 

 realistic market-like situation and lends itself to a mail survey 

 format - as well as the fact that advancements in discrete choice 

 modelling have make this format acceptable. 



The estimation of a demand curve using dichotomous choice 

 requires discovering the relationship between the bid amount 

 asked and probability of a respondent saying "yes" to that bid 

 amount. This relationship can be shown graphically as a two 

 dimensional curve. The area under the curve represents the 

 maximum willingness to pay for a season of mountain lion hunting. 

 Generally the integration occurs between zero and some maximum 

 value, usually the highest bid amount. 



