We are very grateful to all the SFS owners, managers, and visitors surveyed for their time and interest in participating in this study. D Garcia (Generalitat of Catalunya) , M Alcantara, JM MartinezGonzalez,J Ruicio and JA Sese (Government of Aragon) , A Llamas and M Lopez (Government of Navarra) , M Razin (LPO) , P Oliva (UdL) , the forestry rangers of Generalitat of Catalunya and Government of Aragon, Tremp and Laspuna city councils, the institutions Estacio Biol`ogica del Pallars Juss`a, Fundacio CatalunyaLaPedreraAube`rria, L'Altre Pallars SL, Associacio La Trenca, Roc Falcon SLU, Parque faunistico de los Pirineos Lacuniacha, Fondo Amigos del Buitre, Asociacion Bonansa Activa, MonNatura Pirineus, and the national park of Aiguestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici and the natural parc of CadiMoixero provided data about the Pyrenean SFS. We do especially acknowledge M Grasa, JA Sese, J Canut, A Royo, M Aguilera, S Sancho, L Sanchez, S Garrig`os, D Manzanera, J Dalmau and E Rojas who developed part of the fieldwork. JA Sese also helped to improve a first draft of the questionnaire. The comments of two anonymous reviewers improved a previous version of this article. This study was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (project CGL201566966C22R) , Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (project RTI2018099609BC22) , and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the INTERREG VAEspanaFranciaAndorra (POCTEFA 2014-2020 program, project ECOGYP EFA 089/15) . RGJ was supported by a predoctoral grant (FPI/BES-2016-077510) granted by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness. ZMR was supported by a postdoctoral contract cofunded by the Generalitat Valenciana and the European Social Fund (APOSTD/2019/016) .

Nature's contributions to people (NCP) are fundamental to human well-being. In particular, non-material NCP, defined as effects on personal perspectives which enhance people's quality of life, are currently the most abstract and least well-defined NCP. Avian scavengers are a globally threatened guild that plays a key role in our society but currently only valued for their NCP of disease control and carcass removal. We describe the first economic valuation of the recreational and educational experiences brought by avian scavenger-based tourism in Spain, concretely, at vulture supplementary feeding sites (SFS) in the Pyrenees and their important contribution to the incomes of the local human population. Between February 2018 and January 2020, we collected information on the management and characteristics of 53 (c. 80%) of the Pyrenean SFS using telephone interviews and questionnaires. We estimated that photography and avian scavenger-watching at SFS produce an average of US $4.90 +/- 2.67 million annually, including US $2.53 +/- 1.36 million in direct economic benefits to the local population. Using a conservative economic approach, this study is one of only a few to value some of the important nonmaterial contribution provided by avian scavengers to our society. Our study also suggests that further research on non-material NCP provided by avian scavengers at SFS is needed. Finally, we discuss the delicate balance between recreational experiences arising from wildlife-based tourism and biodiversity conservation, contrasting the contribution of SFS to the income of local human populations against the problems they raise for vulture conservation.

European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the INTERREG VAEspanaFranciaAndorra (POCTEFA 2014-2020 program) ECOGYP EFA 089/15

Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness CGL201566966C22R

Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness FPI/BES-2016-077510

Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities RTI2018099609BC22

European Social Fund (ESF) APOSTD/2019/016

Generalitat Valenciana European Commission