To expand the scope of natural resource values included in USDA Forest Service fire management analysis system, a mail survey of Oregon households regarding their willingness to pay for a fire prevention and control program on northern spotted owl critical habitat units in Oregon was performed. Using the voter referendum format, annual willingness to pay of $77 per Oregon household was estimated. This translates into a value of $28 per acre protected. The contingent valuation method may provide a promising avenue for incorporating society's broadening concern about biodiversity and natural values into public land management agencies fire management decisions.
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Loomis et al. (1994) studied this question.