The 2016 updated Recreation Use Values Database is available as an Excel file. Download it here.

You may download the full summary as a PDF document.

Recreation Use Values Database – Summary
Randall S. Rosenberger

The RUVD (2016 update) currently contains 421 documents of economic valuation studies that estimated the use value of recreation activities in the U.S. and Canada from 1958 to 2015, totaling 3,192 estimates in per person per activity day units, adjusted to 2016 USD. Twenty-one primary activity types are provided, with several more available if segregated by activity mode, resource type, primary species sought, or little studied activities (i.e., ‘other recreation’ has an additional 22 activities identified).

These recreation use value estimates are measures of net willingness-to-pay or consumer surplus for recreational access to specific sites, or for certain activities at broader geographic scales (e.g., state or province, national) in per person per activity day units—the RUVD does not contain information on marginal values for changes in site quality or condition.

The RUVD is currently offered as an Excel workbook containing the database and coding protocols. It is currently sorted by primary activity by region—of course, you may download and sort it however you wish. The bibliography cross-references entries in the RUVD via the document code.

An overview of the RUVD is available as a pdf, including distributions of estimates and studies, and mean values by activity type by region.