Neilhei statoniciit is lielprul in makin;; choices 

 anionp individual opportunities. It is necessary to 

 know and to be able to compare the net values 

 that would be added by various alternatives if the 

 greatest social benelll is to be obtained Irom an 

 investment. 



Clawson and Knetsch,' in an excellent dis- 

 course on the economics of outdoor recreation, 

 argue tliat recreation has economic value to llie 

 extent that people express a willingness to pay for 

 the opportunity to engage in recreation activities. 

 They show that demand for the whole recreation 

 experience can be estimated from data on numbers 

 of visitors correlated witJi costs of visitation by 

 distance zones; and, further, tliat a demand curve 

 for each recreation resource or area can be derived 

 from the demand curve for tlie whole experience. 

 The total area under each specific demand curve is 

 tlie sum of the various units of output from the 

 area or project, and this measures the total 

 economic worth to society of the recreation 

 services provided by tliis area or resource. The 

 technique developed by Clawson and Knetsch is a 

 valuable contribution but, as they point out, far 

 more data are needed if precise results are to be 

 obtained. 



Marion Clawson and Jack L. Knetsch, "Economics of 

 Outdoor Recreation" (Baltimore; .lohns Hopkins Press, 

 1966). 



Swimming, boating, hunting, and fishing arc the 

 traditional recreational activities of the coastal 

 areas. In recent years a number of new activi- 

 ties-surfing, water-skiing, scuba diving, and snor- 

 kling-have become extremely popular and have 

 generated greater interest in the submarine envi- 

 ronment of the coastal waters. Other activities 

 wliich are enjoyed and vigorously pursued in 

 coastal areas where opportunities are available 

 include beachcombing, bird watching, hiking, bi- 

 cycling, picnicking, camping, nature study, photo- 

 graphy, painting, and general sightseeing. A com- 

 parative summary of the economic importance of 

 some important recreational activities in coastal 

 and offshore areas is given in Table 1 . 



B. Conflicts 



Recreation is a beneficial use of important 

 natural resources which, if properly planned and 

 managed, does not consume or degrade those 

 resources. Recreation interests compete witli other 

 users, such as commercial fishermen, port and 

 harbor developers, and mineral extractors, whose 

 interest in exploiting the shoreUne is certainly 

 legitimate. 



There is competition for waterfront use by 

 commercial and shipping interests and industrial 

 plants. Farther out from the central cities the main 

 competitors for shoreline space are private residen- 



Table 1 



A COMPARATIVE SUMMARY OF ECONOMIC ACTIVITY' 



In Coastal and Offshore Areas 



Type of 

 Recreation 



Participants, 

 Millions 

 1964 1975 



Annual Expenditures 



Millions of dollars 

 1964 1975 



Swimming 33.0 40.0 $1,500 $2,000 



Surfing 1.0 4.0 50 200 



Skin diving 1.0 3.0 300 900 



Pleasure boating 9.6 14.0 650 1,000 



Sport fishing 8.2 16.0 760 1,300 



National park 

 forest recn 



Tota 



Source: Development Potential of U.S. Continental Shelves, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1966. 



Economic activity refers to and includes multiple types of dollar sources such as operating expenditures, investments, 

 and income. 



VII-237 



