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Abstract
It is Important to avoid misallocation of resources for either
private or public production.. Misallocation in public programs
can result frym failure to employ resources in high priority uses
or to eliminate programs that have become obsolete. This study
evaluates the benefits and costs of the continuing public program
aimed at maintaining Columbia River anadi.omous fish runs.
The hydroelectric power potential of the Columbia River exceeds
that of all other United States river basins. Irrigation,
flood control navigation and recreation are other important products
that. are, often complementary with dam construction. Anadromous
fish, however, compete with products requiring construction
of dams that blockade essential fish migration routes. Costly passage facilities at the dams prevent total blockage of the lower river and supplemental projects such as fish hatcheries at least
partially repilace lost productivity.
Benefits from the available supply of Columbia River anad-
.,
romous fish result from commercial, sport and Indian fishing.
These beneff:ts cannot be directly measured through market prices,
however, and thus must be estimated.
The coEj, of regulated inefficiency was used to estimate net
benefits from commercially-caught fish. Regulated inefficiency
results from. management policies that equate physical supply
capability with market demand through regulated increases in
fishing costs.
Transfer costs were used as a proxy for nonexistent market
prices to estimate the value of sport-caught fish. Revenue maximization
using this estimating method implies that some sport
fishermen will be excluded. Thus, an assumed transfer from
sport to commercial catch was also taken into account. Past, present and future program costs and associated benefits
indicate that the effort to preserve Columbia River anadromous
fish probably could not have been justified by economic criteria in
the 1930's when major costs first began. However, the share of
this prograin remaining in 1965 could be justified on economic
grounds if traditional capital costs were used and where alternative
investment possibilities were not considered.