**VALUATION OF LAKE SUNAPEE report prepared by Dartmouth College Nelson A. Rockefeller Center

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

• “Lake Sunapee is the fifth largest lake located entirely in New Hampshire. It provides significant value to the state economy in the form of property, property taxes, business revenue, and water supply. The lake draws visitors and both full-time and part-time residents to the area. This valuation study attempts to determine an economic value of Lake Sunapee. This could be used to inform preservation and policy regarding the lake. We find that Lake Sunapee contributes $4.1 billion in property values, $52,862,000 in property town tax value, $10,863,888 in ski area infrastructure, $120,918,168 in revenue from tourism, boating and fishing, as well as $885,473 in water infrastructure and supply. These components add to place a value on Lake Sunapee of approximately $4,311,529,529.”

THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF POTENTIAL DECLINE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE WATER QUALITY:

THE LINK BETWEEN VISITOR PERCEPTIONS, USAGE AND SPENDING MAY 2007

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• “Visitors and residents who fish, boat and swim in New Hampshire do so because of the unique and attractive qualities of its waters. They spend hundreds of millions of dollars pursuing these activities, a significant portion of the state’s summer visitor spending. The New Hampshire economy is heavily dependent on traveler and tourism revenue, and is one of the top ten states in the nation in terms of the contribution of tourism to the economy . The efforts to protect waters are widespread and ongoing in New Hampshire, but protecting water for the sake of water is not always a compelling argument in itself. The results from this study should make it possible to discuss surface waters issues from a perspective of benefits to the economic bottom line, as well as from a perspective of environmental quality and public health.”

• “The economic impact of recreationalists decreasing their visits because of perceived changes to water quality would have a significant negative effect on the New Hampshire economy”

• “Summer travelers and visitors to New Hampshire who fish, boat or swim report that they are most likely to leave the state or the tourism region if issues pertaining to water clarity and purity grow worse…”