CHAl>TEK 2: AFFECTHD ENVIRONMFN T 



Table 14. Comparison of net economic value (NEV) per day estimates for Montana deer and elk hunting 

 trips (in current 2002 dollars). Sources: Duffield and Neher (1990) and King and Brooks (2001 ) 

 for deer and elk, respectively. 



Wildlife Viewing Values. Visitors to Montana often cite wildlife watching as an important aspect of their 

 trips to the state. As with hunting, studies have also estimated the net economic value of a day of 

 watching wildlife. USFWS estimated that within the USFWS region containing Montana, residents spend 

 an average of 10.5 days per year engaged in wildlife viewing. USFWS further estimated that the net 

 economic value of wildlife viewing in the region containing Montana is $31 per day (USFWS and U.S. 

 Department of Commerce 1998). 



Relatively more is known about the wildlife viewing values of visitors to YNP than about visitors to GNP 

 or Montana as a whole. Visitors entering YNP from Montana in 1999 cited wildlife viewing as a primary 

 activity during their trip. Overall, 62. 1 % of winter park visitors and 94.9% of summer park visitors listed 

 wildlife viewing as an activity (Duffield et al. 2001 ). Surveys of both winter and summer visitors to YNP 

 have also consistently shown that the gray wolf is one of the species which visitors desire to see the most 

 (Table 15). Interestingly, grizzly bears are some of the most rarely seen of all species in the park 

 (Duffield et. al 2001). However, frequently seen species are also in the top 10 list, such as bison, elk and 

 bighorn sheep. These findings suggest that visitors have well-defined preferences for wildlife viewing 

 and that preferences across winter and summer visitors are similar. 



Table 15. Wildlife species visitors to the Greater Yellowstone Area would most like to see, in order of 

 preference. Preference is measured as the percentage of respondents who cited a species as one 

 of the top three species they would most like to see on their trip. Rank is shown in parentheses. 

 Source: Duffield et al. 2001. 



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