The whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis Engelm.) tree species faces precipitously declining populations in many locations. It is a keystone species found primarily in high-elevation forests across the Western US. The species is an early responder to climate change and qualifies for endangered species protection. We use contingent valuation to estimate the public's willingness to pay for management of the whitebark pine species. In contrast, previous work centres on valuing broader aspects of forest ecosystems or threats to multiple tree species. While only approximately half of the survey respondents have seen whitebark pine, the mean willingness to pay for whitebark pine management is $135 per household. When aggregated across all households from the three sampled states, willingness to pay totals $163 million. This information is valuable to forest managers who must make difficult decisions in times of resource constraints and climate change.

中文翻译：

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美国家庭准备支付多少费用来管理和保护白皮松（Pinus albicaulis Engelm。）？

白皮松（Pinus albicaulis Engelm。）树种在许多地方面临着急剧下降的种群。它是主要在美国西部的高海拔森林中发现的主要物种。该物种是气候变化的早期响应者，有资格获得濒危物种保护。我们使用或有估值法来估计公众为管理白皮松树种付出的意愿。相反，以前的工作集中在评估森林生态系统的广泛方面或对多种树种的威胁。虽然只有大约一半的受访者看过白皮松，但平均愿意为每只白皮松支付135美元。如果将这三个抽样州的所有家庭汇总，则支付意愿总计为1.63亿美元。