Estimating the economic value of recreation losses in Rocky Mountain National Park due to a mountain pine beetle outbreak

Abstract

Forest insects have long-standing ecological relationships with their host trees. Many insects have a benign or beneficial relationship with trees, but a few species are characterized by unpredictable population eruptions that have great ecological and economic implications (Logan, Régnière, and Powell 2003). These insect outbreaks are a major agent of natural disturbance in North American forests. In the United States alone the area impacted by forest pests is approximately 45 times larger than the area affected by forest fire, yielding an economic effect that is five times greater than fire (Dale et al. 2001). Forest pests also contribute to the occurrence and severity of wildfires and have adverse effects on nutrient cycling, carbon sequestration, and biodiversity (Ayers and Lombardero 2000).

Citation

Rosenberger, Randall S.; Bell, Lauren A.; Champ, Patricia A.; White, Eric M. 2013. Estimating the economic value of recreation losses in Rocky Mountain National Park due to a mountain pine beetle outbreak. Western Economics Forum. 12(1): 31-39.