While considerable attention has been focused on the short run impact of crown fires on recreational values little is known about the long term impacts. This analysis makes use of the detailed fire history of Jasper National Park to examine the recovery of amenity values of centuries. This analysis combines the detailed ecological data set with visitor use data to examine the role of forest age and visitation and recreational value. The analysis finds that recreational values associated with old growth Spruce and Lodgepole take three to five centuries following a fire to recover. The values peak at $68 per hectare for higher elevation sites with Lodgepole stands over 500 years old. These results suggest that management strategies that focus on shorter term effects of fire will result in serious mismanagement of multiple use forests. The effects of crown fires in pristine recreational forest will have effects that could last ten generations into the future. |
