Evaluating Alternative Methods for Rationing Wilderness Use

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Abstract
This paper evaluates alternative methods for rationing a fixed supply of wilderness in an attempt to derive a preference ranking among these methods. The rationing methods considered are: Price, random selection (lottery), queuing, and reservation. Using standard measurements of social benefit, price is found to be the superior rationing device. To determine the preference between random selection and queuing, explicit demand relationships must be derived for the wilderness area under consideration. Reservation rationing can best be evaluated by estimating the uncertainty costs inherent in advance planning. We attempt to show that all rationing schemes extract a price, although not as obviously as a formal money price.

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