The Situation
The State of California Water Resources Control Board was faced with a decision about how much water to allocate to Los Angeles from sources flowing into Mono Lake. The reduced water flows to the lake were affecting food supplies for nesting and migratory birds. One of the first contingent valuation studies to measure the use and non-use values that citizens have for public trust resources was a survey of California households regarding willingness to pay for increased water flows into Mono Lake.