Source: UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING submitted to
BENEFITS AND COSTS OF NATURAL RESOURCES POLICIES AFFECTING ECOSYSTEM SERVICES ON PUBLIC AND PRIVATE LANDS
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
TERMINATED
Funding Source
HATCH
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1001641
Grant No.
(N/A)
Project No.
WYO494-13
Proposal No.
(N/A)
Multistate No.
W-3133
Program Code
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Oct 1, 2013
Project End Date
Sep 30, 2017
Grant Year
(N/A)
Project Director
McLeod, DO.
Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING
1000 E UNIVERSITY AVE DEPARTMENT 3434
LARAMIE,WY 82071-2000
Performing Department
Agricultural And Applied Economics
Non Technical Summary
The work offered and conceptualized by the WY researchers consist of an ongoing investigation of the values derived from, and the threats to, open space. Open space provides wildlife habitat; food, fiber and forage production; recreation; land for future unforeseen uses; and a host of ecological services.
Animal Health Component
0%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
100%
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
6056099301040%
6050120301030%
6050599301015%
6050899301015%
Knowledge Area
605 - Natural Resource and Environmental Economics;

Subject Of Investigation
0120 - Land; 0599 - Recreational resources, general/other; 0899 - Wildlife and natural fisheries, general/other; 6099 - People and communities, general/other;

Field Of Science
3010 - Economics;
Goals / Objectives
Obj 1: Land and Water Resource Management in a Changing Environment<p>Task 1-1: Economic Analysis of Ag, Forest and Range Land Resources, Open Space, and WUI Zones<p>Task 1-2: Economic Analysis of Natural Hazards (fire, invasive species, climate change) Obj 2: Economic Valuation Methods<p>Task 2-1: Advances in Stated/Revealed Preference Methods<p>Task 2-2: Advances in Benefit Transfer Methods<p>Task 2-3: Advances in Spatial/Environmental Nexus
Project Methods
Methods include statistical evaluation of collected data and econometric modeling techniques. Future methods may include the use of interviews with knowledgeable and involved individuals; focus groups; mail and phone surveys. IRB approval will be sought at that time and updates provided through annual reports.

Progress 10/01/13 to 09/30/17

Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience consists of policy makers, landowners, land use planners, land trusts, federal and state agency personnel, other researchers, elected officials and concerned citizens. Research offers insights as to maximizing benefits and minimizing damages and costs from land use decisions. This includes fiscal impacts of development, loss of arable agricultural lands from conversion to other uses, and the ecosystem services implications of land use changes. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Investigator learning of advanced econometric and spatial analysis techniques. Graduate student research and communication training. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Via Extension and popular press products. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Economic Analysis of Ag, Forest and Range Land Resources, Open Space, and WUI Zones What has been done. A USDA NRI grant provided resources to pursue analysis of emerging conservation easement (CE) markets. CE&#39;s have become an important public/private land conservation tool in addition to standard land use controls. Stated choice analysis using a random utility model and mixed logit estimation techniques indicated differences between Colorado and Wyoming landowner preferences for conservation easement programs. Welfare measures were calculated for participating landowners. It also indicates that land trusts have different missions that influence the types of Conservation Easements they would pursue. This research has policy ramifications as per NRCS&#39;s and FSA&#39;s CPGL, CRP, CSP, EQIP, FRPP, GRP, WRP, WHIP; USFS&#39;s Forest Legacy, Stewardship and Land Enhancement Programs; USF&amp;W&#39;s Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund and Partnership with Private Landowners for fish and wildlife habitat conservation; LT&#39;s and Public PACE programs. The work also has implications for state, county and municipal land use planning efforts as well as property owners, rural communities and developers. Outcomes provide perspectives as per landowner preferences for conservation easements as well as land trust concerns for initiating conservation easement agreements. The research is designed to improve the decision making environment for program provider and participants. These results are being shared with the academic community, extension educators, land trusts and producer groups. The consequences of local land use decisions on federal lands management has also been pursued. Federal fire suppression costs have risen dramatically as ex-urban development (on former agricultural lands) has occurred in the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI). Water allocation in the face of competing demands and limited supplies has also been pursued as related to land use decisions and resource management. Continued efforts in data collection relevant to land use for valuation of parcel attributes and for development trends are ongoing.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Jones Ritten, C., C. T. Bastian, J. F. Shogren, T. Panchalingam, M. Ehmke, and G. Parkhurst. Understanding Pollinator Habitat Conservation Under the Current Policy Using Economic Experiments, Land. 6,57(2017): 2-13. Available online August 24, 2017. doi:10.3390/land6030057.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Keske, C. M. H., Bixler, R. P., Bastian, C. T. and Cross, J. E. Are Population and Land Use Changes Perceived as Threats to Sense of Place in the New West? A Multilevel Modeling Approach, Rural Sociology. 82,2(2017):263-290. doi:10.1111/ruso.12121
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Bastian, C. T., C. M. Keske, D. M. McLeod, and D. L. Hoag. Landowner and Land Trust Agent Preferences for Conservation Easements: Implications for Sustainable Land Uses and Landscapes, Landscape and Urban Planning. 157(2017): 1-13. Lead article.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Hansen, Kristiana, Christopher T. Bastian, Amy Nagler, and Chian Jones-Ritten. Designing Markets for Habitat Conservation: Lessons Learned from Agricultural Markets Research, Bulletin B-1297. Cooperative Extension Service, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Wyoming, Laramie. February, 2017.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2017 Citation: Lieske S., R. Coupal and D. McLeod. Political jurisdiction, reputation and urban form: a more complete specification of public service costs. Submitted to Quantitative Economics. In Review January 2017.


Progress 10/01/15 to 09/30/16

Outputs
Target Audience:The audiences for the outcomes consist of policy makers, landowners, land use planners, land trusts, federal and state agency personnel, other researchers, elected officials and concerned citizens. Research offers insights as to maximizing benefits and minimizing damages and costs from land use decisions. This includes fiscal impacts of development, loss of arable agricultural lands from conversion to other uses, and the ecosystem services implications of land use changes. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Investigator learning of advanced econometric and spatial analysis techniques. Graduate student research and communication training. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Via Extension and popular press products. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Make use of previously gathered data to continue to analyze cost and benefits of rural development and land use conversion as well as management of land at the wildland urban interface (WUI).

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Task 1-1: Economic Analysis of Ag, Forest and Range Land Resources, Open Space, and WUI Zones What has been done? A USDA NRI grant provided resources to pursue analysis of emerging conservation easement (CE) markets. CE&#39;s have become an important public/private land conservation tool in addition to standard land use controls. Stated choice analysis using a random utility model and mixed logit estimation techniques indicated differences between Colorado and Wyoming landowner preferences for conservation easement programs.Welfare measures were calculated for participating landowners. It also indicates that land trusts have different missions that influence the types of Conservation Easements they would pursue. This research has policy ramifications as per NRCS&#39;s and FSA&#39;s CPGL, CRP, CSP, EQIP, FRPP, GRP, WRP, WHIP; USFS&#39;s Forest Legacy, Stewardship and Land Enhancement Programs; USF&amp;W&#39;s Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund and Partnership with Private Landowners for fish and wildlife habitat conservation; LT&#39;s and Public PACE programs. The work also has implications for state, county and municipal land use planning efforts as well as property owners, rural communities and developers. Outcomes provide perspectives as per landowner preferences for conservation easements as well as land trust concerns for initiating conservation easement agreements. The research is designed to improve the decision making environment for program provider and participants. These results are being shared with the academic community, extension educators, land trusts andproducer groups. The consequences of local land use decisions on federal lands management has also been pursued. Federal fire suppression costs have risen dramatically as ex-urban development (on former agricultural lands) has occurred in the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI). Water allocation in the face of competing demands and limited supplies has also been pursued as related to land use decisions and resource management. Continued efforts in data collection relevant to land use for valuation of parcel attributes and for development trends are ongoing.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Clark, A*., B. Rashford, D. McLeod, S. Lieske, R. Coupal, and S. Albeke. 2016."The Impact of Residential Development Pattern on Wildland Fire Suppression Expenditures." Land Economics. 92(4):656-678.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2016 Citation: Clark, A.M.*, B.S. Rashford, D.M. Mcleod, R.H. Coupal, S.N. Lieske, and S.E. Albeke. 2016. The Impact of Residential Development Pattern on Wildland Fire Suppression Expenditures. 87th Meeting of the Northwest Scientific Association and Central Oregon Fire Science Symposium. Bend OR, March 25.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2016 Citation: February 25-26, 2016. Factors and prices affecting Colorado and Wyoming landowners willingness to accept a conservation easement. Todd, L.*, C. Bastian, D. McLeod, C. Keske and D. Hoag. W-3133 Meetings: Benefits and Costs of Natural Resources Policies Affecting Ecosystem Services on Public and Private Lands. Portland, OR.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2016 Citation: Lieske S., R. Coupal and D. McLeod. Political jurisdiction, reputation and urban form: a more complete specification of public service costs. Submitted to Regional Science and Urban Economics. In Review November 2016.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2016 Citation: Keske, C. M., P. Bixler, C. T. Bastian, and J. Cross. Are Population and Land Use Changes Perceived as Threats to Sense of Place in the New West? A Multilevel Modeling Approach, Rural Sociology. (Currently in press).


Progress 10/01/14 to 09/30/15

Outputs
Target Audience:The audiences for the outcomes consist of policy makers, landowners, land use planners, land trusts, federal and state agency personnel, other researchers, elected officials and concerned citizens. Research offers insights as to maximizing benefits and minimizing damages and costs from land use decisions. This includes fiscal impacts of development, loss of arable agricultural lands from conversion to other uses, and the ecosystem services implications of land use changes. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Graduate student research and communication training. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Make use of previously gathered data to continue to analyze cost and benefits of rural development and land use conversion as well as management of land at the wildland urban interface (WUI).

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Task 1-1: Economic Analysis of Ag, Forest and Range Land Resources, Open Space, and WUI Zones What has been done? A USDA NRI grant provided resources to pursue analysis of emerging conservation easement (CE) markets. CE&#39;s have become an important public/private land conservation tool in addition to standard land use controls. Stated choice analysis using a random utility model and mixed logit estimation techniques indicated differences between Colorado and Wyoming landowner preferences for conservation easement programs. It also indicates that land trusts have different missions that influence the types of Conservation Easements they would pursue. This research has policy ramifications as per NRCS&#39;s and FSA&#39;s CPGL, CRP, CSP, EQIP, FRPP, GRP, WRP, WHIP; USFS&#39;s Forest Legacy, Stewardship and Land Enhancement Programs; USF&amp;W&#39;s Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund and Partnership with Private Landowners for fish and wildlife habitat conservation; LT&#39;s and Public PACE programs. The work also has implications for state, county and municipal land use planning efforts as well as property owners, rural communities and developers. Outcomes provide perspectives as per landowner preferences for conservation easements as well as land trust concerns for initiating conservation easement agreements. The research is designed to improve the decision making environment for program provider and participants. These results are being shared with the academic community, extension educators, land trusts and producer groups. The consequences of local land use decisions on federal lands management has also been pursued. Federal fire suppression costs have risen dramatically as ex-urban development (on former agricultural lands) has occurred in the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI). Water allocation in the face of competing demands and limited supplies has also been pursued as related to land use decisions and resource management. Continued efforts in data collection relevant to land use for valuation of parcel attributes and for development trends are ongoing.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Lieske S., D. McLeod and R. Coupal. 2015  Infrastructure Development, Residential Growth and Impacts on Public Service Expenditure. Applied Spatial Analysis and Policy. Invited special issue: Planning Support Systems. 8(2):113-130.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Hodges, A., K. Hansen and D. McLeod. 2014. The Economics of Bulk Water Transport in Southern California. Resources 3(4): 703-720. http://www.mdpi.com/2079-9276/3/4/703
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2015 Citation: Lieske S., R. Coupal and D. McLeod. Political jurisdiction, reputation and urban form: a more complete specification of public service costs. Submitted to Journal of Urban Economics. In Review March 2015.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2015 Citation: Bastian, C., C. Keske, D.McLeod and D. Hoag. Landowner and Land Trust Agent Preferences for Conservation Easements: Implications for Sustainable Land Uses and Landscapes. Submitted to Landscape and Urban Planning. In Review May 2015.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2015 Citation: Scofield, A., B. Rashford, D. McLeod, S. Lieske, R. Coupal, and S. Albeke. "The Impact of Residential Development Pattern on Wildland Fire Suppression Expenditures." Submitted to Land Economics. Revise and re-submit September 2015.
  • Type: Other Status: Accepted Year Published: 2015 Citation: Scofield*, A., B. Rashford, D. McLeod, R. Coupal and S. Lieske. Wildfire Suppression Costs  The Role of Residential Development Pattern. Open Spaces Bulletin; ENR and AGEC. University of Wyoming. In revision 2015.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Scofield, A., B. Rashford, D. McLeod and R. Coupal. Managing the spatial pattern of residential development could reduce the cost of fighting wildfires. Reflections 2015. Award for best student submission.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: February 26-27, 2015. The Impact of Residential Development Pattern on Wildland Fire Suppression Expenditures. Scofield, A., D. McLeod, B. Rashford, R. Coupal, S. Lieske and S. Albeke. W-3133 Meetings: Benefits and Costs of Natural Resources Policies Affecting Ecosystem Services on Public and Private Lands. Pensacola, FL.


Progress 10/01/13 to 09/30/14

Outputs
Target Audience: The audiences for the outcomes consist of policy makers, landowners, land use planners, land trusts, federal and state agency personnel, other researchers, elected official and concerned citizens. Research offers insights as to maximizing benefits and minimizing damages and costs from land use decisions. This includes fiscal impacts of development, loss of arable agricultural lands from conversion to other uses, and the ecosystem services implications of land use changes. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Graduate student reasearch and communication training. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Communities of interest were reached thru CES outreach, publications and professional conference presentations. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Make use of previously gathered data to continue to analyze cost and benefits of rural development and land use conversion as well as management of land at the wildland urban interface (WUI).

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Task 1-1: Economic Analysis of Ag, Forest and Range Land Resources, Open Space, and WUI Zones What has been done? A USDA NRI grant provided resources to pursue analysis of emerging conservation easement (CE) markets. CE&#39;s have become an important public/private land conservation tool in addition to standard land use controls. Stated choice analysis using a random utility model and mixed logit estimation techniques indicated differences between Colorado and Wyoming landowner preferences for conservation easement programs. It also indicates that land trusts have different missions that influence the types of Conservation Easements they would pursue. This research has policy ramifications as per NRCS&#39;s and FSA&#39;s CPGL, CRP, CSP, EQIP, FRPP, GRP, WRP, WHIP; USFS&#39;s Forest Legacy, Stewardship and Land Enhancement Programs; USF&amp;W&#39;s Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund and Partnership with Private Landowners for fish and wildlife habitat conservation; LT&#39;s and Public PACE programs. The work also has implications for state, county and municipal land use planning efforts as well as property owners, rural communities and developers. Outcomes provide perspectives as per landowner preferences for conservation easements as well as land trust concerns for initiating conservation easement agreements. The research is designed to improve the decision making environment for program provider and participants. These results are being shared with the academic community, extension educators, land trusts and producer groups. The consequences of local land use decisions on federal lands management has also been pursued. Federal fire suppression costs have risen dramatically as ex-urban development (on former agricultural lands) has occurred in the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI). Water allocation in the face of competing demands and limited supplies has also been pursued as related to land use decisions and resource management. Continued efforts in data collection relevant to land use for valuation of parcel attributes and for development trends are ongoing. Impact The projects I have been involved with relate to open space preservation/conservation issues across a variety of natural resource considerations, particularly land and water resources. Exurban sprawl and landscape fragmentation continue to be critical issues with respect to resource management, local governance and rural community development. There are implications for the costs of infrastructure development and public service provision as per the arrangement of people on the landscape and the conversion of extensive agricultural lands into large lot exurban parcels. The bulk of the work I am involved in sheds some light onto the outcomes of parcelization and fragmentation of rural lands. I offer information to a diverse audience ranging from concerned citizens and ranchers to state and federal policy analysts. I am in frequent contact with land trust personnel, fledgling economics students, non majors, cooperative extension personnel, faculty at other institutions, NRCS personnel and state agencies.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Wasson, J., D. M. McLeod, C. T. Bastian and B. S. Rashford. The Effects of Environmental Amenities on Agricultural Land Values, Land Economics. 89(3): 466-478.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Bastian, C. T., K. T. Coatney, R. Mealor, D. T. Taylor, and P. Meiman. Priority Weighting of Nature Versus Finances in Land Management Attitudes of Rural Exurban Landowners, Landscape and Urban Planning. 127(July 2014): 65-74
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Nagler, A. M., C. T. Bastian, D. T. Taylor, and T. Foulke. Community Economic Contributions from Recreational Trails Usage on Public Lands: Implications from a Comprehensive Wyoming Case Study, Western Economics Forum. 12:2 (2013): 1-11. Lead article in Special Issue on Public Lands.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2014 Citation: Hodges, A., K. Hansen and D. McLeod. Inter-basin water transfer strategies. Resources. Submitted October 2014.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2014 Citation: Lieske S., D. McLeod and R. Coupal. The land-use change and spatially explicit fiscal impacts of regional water development. Applied Spatial Analysis and Policy. Invited special issue: Planning Support Systems. Re-submitted October 2014.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2014 Citation: Lieske S., R. Coupal and D. McLeod. A spatially determined public service cost function: Incorporating political jurisdiction and reputation. Journal of Public Economics. Submitted October 2014.