PHOTO: Yosemite is one of the nation's most popular national parks. (Photo courtesy of Thinkstock)
The National Parks Foundation recently conducted a first-ever study to create a comprehensive economic valuation of the country's national parks and their programming - in short, they wanted to find out if you could put a dollar value on our national parks. As it turns out, you can.
The study, conducted by professor John Loomis and research associate Michelle Haefele, of Colorado State University, and Linda Bilmes of the Harvard Kennedy School, determined that the total economic value (TEV) of national parks and the National Park Service's programs is $92 billion.
Preserving our parks is important to the American public. According to the researchers, the study, a reporting of total economic value, demonstrates the public's shared perception of the benefits of our national parks and programs, regardless of whether they personally visit the parks or not. In fact, when asked, 95 percent of the American public said that protecting the national parks for future generations was important and 80 percent would pay higher federal taxes to ensure the protection and preservation of the National Park Service.
Loomis concluded that "this study demonstrates that more than half of the total economic value of national parks is attributable to the benefits the American public receives from just knowing the National Park System is protected for current and future generations."
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