To develop a model of recreational behavior that incorporates both temporal and spatial decision-making by boaters and anglers.
To develop an internet-based survey instrument to collect information from a sample of recreational boaters in Ohio on the pattern of recreational boating trips, the length of trips, the location of trips, the activities undertaken on each trip, and the expenditure on each trip.
To estimate the economic benefits of boating and angling within a season across geographic location.
To calculate the economic impacts (expenditures and revenues) of recreational boating and angling across locations and across a season.
To identify climatic, site specific and individual factors that determine substition patterns by boaters and anglers between sites within a season.
To merge the economic impact and benefit calculations with existing data on site characteristics and climatic factors from the Great Lakes Forecasting System.
To compare the value of recreational boating and angling trips between inland lakes and rivers and Lake Erie.
To provide summary information on boating patterns, expenditures and economic benefits to local municipalities, public agencies, and tourism bureaus.

Significant research has been dedicated to estimating the economic value of recreational boating and fishing in Ohio. Seasonal measures of the economic benefits and economic impacts indicate that coastal businesses and towns benefit significantly from boaters and anglers visiting their areas. However, an outstanding question remains as to whether Lake Erie boaters and anglers have larger economic values for trips than non-Lake Erie boaters and anglers. In addition, little information is available on how boating and angling trip visitation and expenditures vary within a season on Lake Erie.

This research proposes a comprehensive data collection effort that will allow for the modeling of multiple-site decisions over multiple-choice occasions while incorporating the possibility of temporal and spatial correlation between choices. A survey will be developed to elicit recreational site visitation information from a sample of Ohio based recreational anglers and boaters. The survey will be a multi-period survey designed to track recreation behavior across a full boating/fishing season. Because anglers will be asked to report their site visitation patterns over multiple time-period, the collected data will represent a panel data set of recreation behavior. This temporal based data will be used to estimate the value of and variation in recreational boating and angling in Ohio across geographic location and across the time period of study. Understanding the within season variation in the values recreators place on site-specific amenities allows for better decision making by public agencies and municipal authorities.

A joint data collection effort with NOAA Damage Assessment Center has resulted in the administration of a mail survey tracking Ohio angler behavior across a 6-month period from May-November of 2003. Data entry is underway and will be completed in February 2004.