Study Determines Each Yellowstone Grizzly Is Worth $46,000 To Local Economy

Study Determines Each Yellowstone Grizzly Is Worth $46,000 To Local Economy

If you’ve ever been stuck in a Yellowstone National Park “bear jam”, one of those spontaneous roadside parking lots that forms when a grizzly or black bear wanders into view, you’ve witnessed something economists call a “nonmarket good.” There’s no admission fee for the experience, no ticket to purchase. But that doesn’t mean it’s worthless. In a collaboration between the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Park Service, economists developed…