On the willingness-to-pay for Elodea removal in the Fairbanks North Star Borough

Abstract

The empirical research conducted herein addresses a public need for the funding of a project that would eradicate Elodea in the Fairbanks North Star Borough (FNSB). The eradication project has been outlined and approved by State and Federal agencies and has gathered funding to begin the eradication process. The study aims to develop a mean willingness-to-pay value for survey participants by shifting the funding burden to property tax payers. This body of work includes a primer on Elodea in the borough, an overview of contingent valuation, a parametric approach to willingness-to-pay, and results of the study conducted on Fairbanks property owners. The average willingness-to-pay per survey respondent is $50.32. In addition, 72% of survey respondents voted for the enactment of the program at their proposed cost level. These financial burdens took values of $10, $30, $60, or $120 per year for 4 years to fund the proposed program. A penalized maximum log-likelihood estimation found that the most significant predictors for the likelihood of a yes vote are the respondent's perceived risk to the ecosystem and recreational opportunities. Additionally, the respondents concern for the use of herbicides in the borough to treat the Elodea infestation is highly significant. The high level of prior knowledge throughout the survey indicates that respondents had established view on Elodea prior to the survey.