Private provision of a public good: Willingness to pay for privately stocked trout

Governments may fail to adequately supply public goods, due, in part, to declining budgets and entrenched methods of provision. This under supply provides opportunities for private organizations to supplement governmental efforts in the provision of goods with positive externalities. This study examines a case where a local, non-governmental organization conducts a fish stocking program on a restored public waterway in West Virginia. Results show that anglers are generally supportive of the program. Estimated average willingness to pay for fish stocking is about. $29 per angler per year, based on results from a grouped data Tobit model. Annual stated willingness to pay is affected by distance to the site, knowledge of the program, demographics, and fishing preferences, each of which has implications for promoting and marketing the trout stocking program. Knowledge of the program helps mitigate the distance decay of spillover benefits.