Environmental zoning, development moratoriums, and natural amenities: Using nonmarket valuation to improve management of Wisconsin's northern temperate lakes

n this dissertation I explore the economic value of protecting lake shoreline and the value of natural amenities that are protected by shoreline management. First, I evaluate the economic effects of a lake classification and shoreline zoning ordinance on lakeshore property values in Vilas County, Wisconsin using the hedonic methodology. A model is developed that accounts for both a positive amenity effect and a negative development effect resulting from the shoreline zoning restrictions. After accounting for both of these effects, the results indicate that lakeshore zoning increases property values by four percent. Our approach accounts for important estimation issues related to the potential endogeneity of the zoning and housing development measures.;Second, I develop and estimate a contingent valuation model that directly allows for respondent uncertainty by using elicited choice probabilities. I apply the model to a hypothetical moratorium on lakeshore development. The estimated willingness to pay for a lakeshore development moratorium is ;Finally, I use remote sensing data to estimate a hedonic model examining the effect of lake water clarity on lakeshore property values. The analysis combines an active market in lakeshore property sales with remote sensing on lake water clarity. This allows us to estimate a hedonic model in a well-defined property market that includes a much larger number of lakes than used in previous hedonic studies looking at the effect of water clarity on housing prices. We find that water clarity has a positive and significant effect on lakeshore property values. The implicit price for a one meter improvement in water clarity ranges from...