The Bureau of Reclamation and National Park Service worked with a consulting firm to develop a contingent valuation survey to estimate how the value of rafting changed with different flows in the Grand Canyon. The study attempted to quantify how the value of rafting in the Grand Canyon would change with more even base flows, as compared to reduced flows during peak-power periods. The study found substantial economic values for rafting with increased water flows – $2 million per year.
As in the Mono Lake study, the impact of the contingent valuation analysis helped change perspectives about how economic tradeoffs should be discussed. Rather than recreation versus hydropower, the challenge was now to find a release pattern that increased the economic value of all uses of the river water.