Tourism Economics, 2008, 14 (2), 249–262 Regional economic contribution and net economic values of opening access to three Colorado Fourteeners CATHERINE M. KESKE AND JOHN B. LOOMIS Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1172, USA. E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]. Climbing ‘Fourteeners’, peaks whose summits rise above 14,000 feet, is a popular recreational activity in Colorado. Access to these popular peaks has been jeopardized by liability issues on privately owned peaks and by overuse on publicly owned peaks. To date, there has been little analysis on the economic benefits provided by Fourteeners. This study finds that opening access to three closed peaks presents an infusion into local and state economies of 25 and 45 jobs, respectively. Access to the peaks is worth US$167 per person each trip; a relatively high value in the context of the recreation economics literature. Keywords: contingent valuation; input–output models; peak bagging; regional economics; Colorado A regional economic development opportunity is present in the 54 mountains in Colorado’s high country with peaks that are over 14,000 feet above sea level (referred to as ‘Fourteeners’). Fourteener recreation enables rural areas of the state to diversify their economies by providing off-ski season destination spots, which give additional revenue streams beyond the traditional natural resource economic base of mining, logging and livestock grazing. Thousands of people both from within the state and all across the country seek Fourteener recreation ranging from day hiking, camping, off-road vehicle trails and photography opportunities. One popular activity is ‘peak bagging’, which involves hikers summiting the 54 peaks – a feat which is often a lifetime goal. Fourteener The authors would like to acknowledge Sarah Gorecki of the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative (CFI) and Cara Doyle of the Mosquito Range Heritage Initiative (MRHI) for their support of the study and for their assistance with survey distribution. We want to thank three anonymous reviewers for extensive comments that greatly improved the exposition of important details of the study methods and analysis. Partial funding was provided by the Colorado Agricultural Experiment Station Regional Research Project, W1133. 250 TOURISM ECONOMICS Table 1. Fourteeners with accessibility issues due to partial or complete private ownership. Range Private peaks Access permitted 10-Mile/Mosquito Bross Closed, with access pending Democrat Closed, with access pending Lincoln Closed, with access pending Quandary (parts) YES – trail rerouted to avoid private land Sherman YES – but future access debated Sangre de Cristo Culebra Fee for access Crestone Group YES – pending access issues across private lands Little Bear Peak YES – trail rerouted to avoid private land Mt. Lindsey YES – summit privately owned San Juan Wilson Peak Closed, with access pending recreationists make these expenditures because they receive a ‘consumer surplus’ or benefit in excess of their expenditures. Both expenditure and consumer surplus data are important for performing a comprehensive analysis of mountain tourism, because the data enable researchers to understand the economic benefits to the recreationists, the neighbouring communities and the regional economies. While Colorado has the largest concentration of Fourteeners, such peaks exist in California (Mount Whitney) and Washington (Mount Rainer). Thus, our valuation study begins to help fill this gap in the empirical literature and may be useful for benefit transfer purposes to high peaks in general. What is access worth to tourism-dependent communities and hikers? The majority of the Fourteeners are managed by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service. However, ten Fourteeners, listed in Table 1, have ‘private in-holdings’, meaning that the peaks are owned either entirely or in part by private landowners. As presented in Table 1, many of the recreation access routes have been redirected to avoid the private in-holdings. However, recently, four peaks (Mounts Lincoln, Democrat, Bross and Wilson Peak) have been closed to the public. As also noted in Table 1, Mounts Lincoln, Democrat and Bross are part of the five-peak, 10-Mile/Mosquito Range, all of which consist of private in-holdings. The 10-Mile/Mosquito Range is located approximately 70 miles west of Denver. The economies most affected by these peak closures include the small community of Alma that lies at the base of the Fourteeners; the town of Fairplay, located approximately 8 miles to the south and also in Park County; as well as the nearby ski resort town of Breckenridge, in the southern corner of Summit County and approximately 15 miles to the north of the closed Fourteeners. The locations of the 10-Mile/Mosquito Range and these respective towns are illustrated in Figure 1. Opening access to three Colorado Fourteeners 251 Longs Peak Colorado Fourteeners I-70 Hwy 9 Denver Breckenridge 10-Mile/Mosquito Alma Quandary Peak Hwy 285 Mt Bross I-25 Mt Lincoln Fairplay Mt Democrat Mt Sherman N Hwy 9 Pikes Peak W E S Figure 1. 10-Mile/Mosquito Range map of the location of Quandary Peak relative to closed peaks of Bross, Lincoln and Democrat. This study provides information on: (a) the net economic benefits to the visiting public in the form of their net willingness to pay or consumer surplus – this information is relevant for benefit–cost analysis at the national level, as in evaluation of the economic efficiency of the USDA Forest Service policies, which may include acquiring private lands or charging a fee for access to popular peaks; and (b) the regional economic significance to local communities, counties and the State of Colorado from the expenditures of visitors to these areas – this information is relevant for evaluating the local costs of increasing visitor access to these peaks. In order to provide information on (a) and (b), we quantify what access to Quandary Peak in the 10-Mile/Mosquito Range generates in terms of local and state value added (for example, wages, business income) and employment, using an input–output model combined with hiker survey data on expenditures. Employing the contingent valuation method (CVM) (Mitchell and Carson, 1989; Loomis and Walsh, 1997), we also estimate the consumer surplus to Fourteener users on nearby Quandary Peak, which traverses private land but remains open for public access. Both of these measures give insight into the 252 TOURISM ECONOMICS regional economic significance provided by reopening access to Mounts Lincoln, Democrat and Bross. Existing literature reviews indicate there have been no specific studies of climbing Fourteeners (Rosenberger and Loomis, 2001). However, there have been a handful of studies on rock climbing (see Grijalva and Berrens, 2003, for a summary). There have been numerous studies of hiking, including hiking in wilderness areas, but no studies have been undertaken on climbing Fourteeners. Thus, our valuation study begins to help fill this gap in the empirical literature and may be useful for benefit transfer purposes. One observation of the value of a Colorado Fourteener is the privately owned Culebra Peak, located in the Sangre de Cristo range in southern Colorado. After being purchased in 2004, the new landowners of the Cielo Vista Ranch turned peak access to Culebra into a business enterprise by charging US$100 per person to climb Culebra and US$150 to climb both Culebra and a ‘Thirteener’ also located on the property (Colorado Fourteeners Initiative Website, www.14ers.org). Due to the proprietary nature of this privately owned business, visitor use estimates are difficult to ascertain, but the mountain is opened nearly every day during the prime peak climbing months of June through September and a minimum party of five is required for access (Colorado Fourteeners Initiative, www.14ers.org). The source behind the closure of Mounts Lincoln, Democrat and Bross lies in the numerous mineral claims that dot this mountain range. Hiking trails and camping areas along these peaks cross old mine shafts and mine tunnels that either are abandoned or remain open so that landowners have the option to reopen the mines. Property owners are concerned about the liability that the mines present to Fourteener recreationists. Because 10-Mile/Mosquito Range landowners do not charge for Fourteener access, there is little economic incentive to risk the legal liability of potential injuries to recreationists or damage that may preclude future mineral extraction. As a result, in 2005, the landowners of these three peaks closed access to the public. Economic issues resulting from peak closure Elimination of hiker access invokes two economic issues. First, for the local economies in Park County and southern Summit County, Fourteener closure may result in serious reduced tourism and economic benefits during the summer. As a result of potential loss of revenues, the town of Alma and the State of Colorado in 2005 sought to pass legislation that essentially would indemnify the local landowner from any lawsuits related to injury or death from the old mine sites. In early 2006, the State of Colorado signed legislation HB 06-1049 into law, effectively putting this policy into operation. In exchange, the landowner agreed to open up access to the public and, in some cases, the town of Alma has leased much of the area from private landowners. HB 06-1049 was also supported by a number of local and non-profit hiking and climbing organizations. Clearly, there are a number of incentives for local governments like city councils and grassroots organizations to become involved in ensuring Fourteener access. As noted by one of the members of the Colorado House of Representatives Opening access to three Colorado Fourteeners 253 ‘From 10,000 to 20,000 climbers head up Democrat, Lincoln and Bross each summer and contribute to the local economies’ (Frazier, 2006). By leasing the land for US$1 a month, the town, as a municipality, has limited liability if sued, so it can receive the regional economic benefits without exposing itself to large liability losses (Brown, 2006).