Economic considerations in the endangered species debate: The case of the piping plover

Abstract

This article addresses the issue of estimating the local impacts of implementing protection programs for endangered species. Using a case study of the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge in Newburyport, Massachusetts, economic impact analyses of the protection program are performed using data from an intercept survey performed at the refuge in summer of 1993‐ Economic implications of the program on the local economy are discussed, and some potential broader uses of the methods developed for this analysis. Overall, lower attendance levels at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge due to species protection programs probably result in a corresponding drop in local retail and service sector sales of less than one percent of total sales in the local economy.