The Au Sable River sportfishing resource was subjected to a three-phase economic demand analysis using existing statewide fishery survey data collected during 1970 and 1971. Confidence in the applicable data extracted for this analysis is limited; hence, the results drawn from it should be viewed with caution. Natural resources management decisions are becoming increasingly subject to a more explicit definition of costs and benefits. The competition for the use of scarce natural resources, in conjunction with the advent of cost-benefit and cost-effective analyses, places an urgent requirement upon management to more clearly specify program outputs in terms of their (dollar) value to people. The practical application of economic demand analysis in a non-market setting commends itself to finding a solution to many natural resources management problems. (Modified author abstract)