Potential Outcomes and Consequence of a Proposed Grazing Permit Buyout Program

This study investigated the role that a public land grazing permit buyout would have on ranching operations and conserving private land open space in the Rocky Mountain region of the western United States. Loss of grazing permits could serve as a pivotal factor in expediting private land fragmentation if ranching operations are enticed to sell their land due to loss of economic viability. This type of program inadvertently could be detrimental to overall ecosystem health and have unintended economic, ecological, and cultural consequences for the administering agencies and grazing permittees. The goal of this study was to provide sociodemographic profiles of landowners to better understand social motivations for ranching, implications of permit removal, ongoing conservation activities, and possible policy solutions. We assessed likely participation levels, demographic attitudes, and reasons for participation in a proposed grazing permit buyout program. This paper is based on data collected from a mail survey of 2 000 permittees in the Rocky Mountain States (39% response rate), and data collected from qualitative personal interviews. These interviews assessed motivations for participation, potential costs, and search for unforeseen consequences related to a proposed buyout program. We interviewed 49 individuals (33 ranchers, 16 agency personnel), which enabled us to describe likely outcomes and previously unmentioned items for consideration related to a proposed buyout program. Interview data were analyzed and broken into two major themes: motivation for participation in a buyout and potential consequences. Our study indicated that overall participation in potential buyout would be relatively low (17%); however, the associated financial, ecological, and administrative costs could be substantial. We note several unanticipated motivations for possible participation in this type of program, as well as possibly unrecognized impacts for administering agencies and permittees.     

New Rangeland Residents in Wyoming? A Survey of Exurban Landowners

Rapid conversion of rural land to exurban development and the ensuing impacts on natural resources have been well-documented, but information about exurban landowners is lacking. To address this knowledge gap, we surveyed exurban landowners in six Wyoming counties and documented demographic characteristics, motivations, knowledge, and attitudes about natural resources and land management. The overall response rate was 55.6%. Generally, respondents were of retirement age, had lived in Wyoming for about 13 yr, and were raised in areas with a population < 10 000. Wyoming respondents lived in exurbia for the lifestyle and aesthetic values and did not expect economic gains from their property. Most respondents had knowledge about, and interest in, invasive species, water quality, landscaping, and gardening. More than half of respondents (54%) had never looked for information regarding land management. Information from this study can be used to strengthen the development and delivery of educational programs. Programs that focus on water quality or weed control likely will appeal to more exurban landowners than those that focus solely on grazing management. Our findings provide an accurate characterization of this audience and their motivations and attitudes regarding land management, and suggest that using a multipronged approach for outreach efforts, which includes both cost- and time-efficient ways to conduct important land management practices, might increase participation in educational programs.     

Additionality and Avoiding Grassland Conversion in the Prairie Pothole Region of the United States

Grassland conversion into croplands in the Prairie Pothole Region of the United States is a persistent hurdle toward mitigating climate change. Several carbon offset markets have been designed to reward landowners for keeping lands in their native state when incentives to convert are high. We explore the role of a critical determinant in such programs: the additionality threshold. This factor, if appropriately selected and applied, reduces the participation of landowners that would choose to enroll in the program but would not have converted their land under business-as-usual conditions. Using a simple model relating land quality and land use to economic rents, we simulate potential avoided grassland conversion offset market participation across a range of cropland over pasture rent difference threshold (RDT) values. We find mitigation potential and simulated program costs are widely variable depending on this parameter and assume carbon prices: across the five states studied, the full range is 0.41 tCO₂e • yr⁻¹ (0.2 RDT, $10 •·t⁻¹ carbon price) to 4.6 million tCO₂e • yr⁻¹ (1.2 RDT, $40 tCO₂e • t⁻¹ carbon price), assuming average land use change emissions values for pastureland in the region. Total program costs for these offsets also exhibit a wide range, spanning $2−$120 million • yr⁻¹ depending on parameterization. Results across the full range of RDTs (0.2−2) demonstrate a tendency toward higher RDTs for achieving high levels of avoided emissions, with cost efficiency being maximized in the 1.4−1.8 range for RDTs. A state-level breakdown of results demonstrate the importance of modeling economic trends in land use and setting region-specific additionality thresholds for avoided grassland conversion offsets. Although our study is specific to grassland conversion in one region of the United States, similar offset markets exist elsewhere, where additionality concerns are paramount. We believe our framework can be useful in improving protocol design.     

Perceptions of Landowners Concerning Conservation,Grazing, Fire,and Eastern Redcedar Management in Tallgrass Prairie

Successful prairie restoration will depend in part on convincing private landowners with agricultural and recreational use goals to implement appropriate rangeland management practices, such as prescribed burning and cattle grazing, to control invasive species and encroachment of woody plants. However, landowners have been slow to adopt appropriate practices in the US Midwest. The purpose of this study was to explore attitudes and behaviors of private landowners toward prescribed burning and moderate stocking as rangeland management tools. A survey was mailed to 193 landowners (response rate 51%) in the Grand River Grasslands region of southern Iowa and northern Missouri. While 68% of landowners viewed grazing as a legitimate land management tool, only half of landowners thought of fire as a legitimate tool. Over 75% of respondents believed that the increase in eastern redcedar and other trees in grasslands was a problem, with 44% considering it a major problem. Although 84% of landowners said that they had taken action to control eastern redcedar, only 25% had participated in a prescribed burn. Income from agriculture and recreational goals were negatively and significantly correlated (-0.252, P = 0.035). While holding recreational goals constant in the analysis, landowners reporting income from agriculture goals as very or extremely important were negatively and significantly associated with reporting environment and grassland factors as very or extremely important. Adoption of prescribed burning by private landowners might be more widespread if proponents focus on the effectiveness of fire for controlling eastern redcedar, which is viewed as a problem by most landowners in the region. Intervention efforts must include landowners with different goals as part of the promotion and educational process.     

Public Wildlife Management on Private Lands: Reciprocity,Population Status,and Stakeholders’ Normative Beliefs

Wildlife agencies balance the effectiveness of management with public acceptability. Past research has demonstrated stakeholders’ normative beliefs regarding management are influenced by the severity of the human-wildlife interaction, and the harshness of human response. Such beliefs may be more complex when public and private interests intertwine. In Montana, concerns about Brucellosis spreading from wild elk to domestic livestock prompted agencies to consider new management actions on private lands. We investigated how normative beliefs within stakeholder groups related to reciprocity between landowners and the public, and elk population status, using a linear mixed-effects analysis of mail survey responses. Proposed actions were considerably more acceptable in scenarios where landowners reciprocated with public hunting access, and where elk populations were abundant. Acceptability of lethal actions varied substantially across scenarios, indicating a need for a nuanced understanding of how stakeholders perceive different wildlife control measures, especially in private land contexts.     

Hardwood Rangeland Landowners in California from 1985 to 2004: Production,Ecosystem Services,and Permanence

A longitudinal study of California hardwood rangelands shows significant change in landowner characteristics and goals. Results of three studies spanning 1985 to 2004 were used to develop and evaluate a multiagency research and extension program known as the Integrated Hardwood Range Management Program. Program-sponsored education and research aimed at encouraging landowners to change woodland management has been reflected in a significant reduction in oak cutting and an increase in oak planting. Recent changes have come with the times: landowners were as likely to have consulted land trusts about oaks as Cooperative Extension, and the number engaged in production of crops or livestock continued to decline. On the other hand, the proportion of landowners, including ranchers, reporting that they live in the oak woodland to benefit from ecosystem services such as natural beauty, recreation, and lifestyle benefits significantly increased. Though owners of large properties and ranchers were more strongly against regulation and “government interference” than other respondents, this did not appear to affect oak values and management. Property size remained significantly related to landowner goals, values, and practices, with those producing livestock owning most of the larger properties. There has been a decline in the number of properties being studied due to conversion of some from oak woodland to other uses, though the remaining respondents still own at least 10% of the woodlands. Landowners with conservation easements or those who are willing to consider them, who believe oak recruitment is inadequate, or who use advisory services were significantly less likely to cut oaks and more likely to plant them. Policy, management, and outreach that support synergies between production and conservation activities, and that combine ecosystem service-based income streams that encourage keeping land intact and increased land-use stability, are needed to support conservation of private rangelands.     

Common Influences on the Success of Habitat Conservation Planning under the Endangered Species Act

Over half of the endangered species in the United States depend on private lands for habitat. In 1982, Congress amended the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to address the conservation of endangered species on private lands through the introduction of Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs). HCPs enable landowners to comply with the ESA and can foster creative partnerships between the federal government and local stakeholders. Researchers have investigated the scientifically biological merits of HCPs, but comparatively little attention has been given to social aspects despite an emphasis on stakeholder involvement in HCPs. We explore stakeholder perceptions of HCP development through 19 semi-structured key informant interviews. Findings include the influence of interpersonal themes, shared understanding and capacity on process outcomes, and the importance of the external context in which HCP development occurs. Our research highlights the central role of understanding social dimensions to achieve the desired outcomes from collaborative conservation planning processes.     

Contingent Valuation of Woodland-Owner Private Amenities in Spain,Portugal, and California

Most of the Mediterranean woodlands in Spain, Portugal, and California are managed as agrosilvopastoral enterprises, producing some combination of livestock, wood, cork products, and crops, as well as wildlife habitat and diverse environmental services. Private amenity benefits to landowners have been suggested as an explanation for high land prices and the persistence of such rangeland enterprises despite apparently marginal cash returns. In this study, private amenity values are estimated using a contingent valuation technique in surveys of private woodland owners as part of five case studies, using a design developed to separate landowner amenity income and capital values. Nonindustrial private landowners were asked about the maximum amount of money that they were willing to give up (to pay) before selling their property to invest in more commercially profitable assets, and the proportion of the market price of their woodland that they think is explained by privately consumed amenities. Amenity values were found to be relevant because, in all cases, landowners were willing to pay &spigt; &euro;120 · ha^-1 · yr^-1, at 2002 prices, and attributed &spigt; 30% of land market price to amenities. These values represent an amenity profitability rate &spigt; 2% in all case studies. The data analysis shows some similarities, but mostly divergences, in the different land-simulated and amenity-simulated markets.     

Perceptions of Texas Landowners Regarding Fire and Its Use

Growing recognition that periodic fire is critical for maintaining the health of many rangeland ecosystems and concerns over more frequent catastrophic wildfires have focused attention on prescribed fire as an ecosystem restoration and fuel management tool. In states such as Texas, where most land is privately owned, the level of success of outreach activities aimed at expanding the adoption of specific management practices is influenced by the extent to which landowners’ perceptions, interests, and concerns regarding such practices are addressed. This is particularly important for prescribed fire, which has been perceived by many landowners to be a dangerous or wasteful practice. Here we report the results of a mail survey of 185 members of the Edwards Plateau Prescribed Burn Association (EPPBA) and a random sample of 600 nonmember rural landowners in four counties in the Edwards Plateau and two counties in the Rolling Plains ecoregions of Texas. The overall response rate was 46.6%. Primary reasons respondents did not apply fire on their land were insufficient resources, legal concerns, and lack of assistance with burn plan development. EPPBA members had more positive attitudes than nonmembers about the ecological role of fire and the use of prescribed fire. Our study suggests that adoption of prescribed burning as an integral part of land management plans by private landowners could be expanded by forming new prescribed burning associations. The EPPBA model for such associations provides learning opportunities that are consistent with adult learning and innovation adoption principles. It facilitates fire safety training, reduces concerns over legal liability associated with fire ignition, and enhances access to shared fire management equipment and labor on burn days. The two-tiered structure of the EPPBA with some form of state-level representation appears to be an efficient organizational structure for these associations.     

Landowner Perceptions of Legal Liability for Using Prescribed Fire in the Southern Plains,United States

Suppression of fire in the Southern Plains has led to proliferation of woody plants and fuel load accumulation that spurs wildfires. These effects have led to calls for widespread application of prescribed fire to reduce fuel loads, but there is substantial landowner resistance to the use of this land management tool. Here we explore factors that affect perceptions of landowners in the Southern Plains about prescribed fire liability and their willingness to apply this land management tool. This region was selected for the study because of the preponderance of private landholdings and widespread woody plant encroachment. The study used a mail survey of 1 853 landowners in 16 counties in Texas and Oklahoma, resulting in a data set from 680 respondents (37% useable response rate). Logistic regression models were developed to test three hypotheses relating to the likelihood that a landowner will apply prescribed fire. The study corroborated that landowners who perceived higher levels of fire-related legal liability were less likely to apply prescribed fire on their land or assist with its application on other properties. In addition, burn bans were found to inhibit landowner willingness to apply fire during periods that result in higher woody plant mortality. Oklahoma respondents, landowners who believed prescribed fire to be an affordable woody plant management tool, and members of prescribed burning associations (PBAs) were more likely to use prescribed fire. These results have important implications for policies aimed at overcoming resistance to the use of prescribed fire to curb woody plant encroachment and reduce fuel load accumulation. Specifically, language in state statutes pertaining to prescribed fire should be modified to reduce landowner concerns over legal liability; PBAs should be established more widely; and public cost-sharing funds for woody plant management should prioritize prescribed fire.     

Practical Challenges in Private Stewardship of Rangeland Ecosystems: Yellow Starthistle Control in Sierra Nevadan Foothills

Private landowners are often de facto stewards of biodiversity and ecosystem services. In California's Sierra Nevada foothills, ranchers frequently present the only defense against biological invasions in private rangelands. Although ranchers' land management goals (e.g., the desire to control invasive species) can be consistent with ecosystem protection, practical constraints often limit their success. Considerable research on the invasive weed, yellow starthistle (Centaurea solstitialis L.), has produced numerous control strategies. Nevertheless, the range of this noxious weed continues to increase. We used surveys and interviews to document the weed control efforts of 202 ranchers and to identify practical limitations to their efficacy. Overall, 86% of ranchers who had experienced yellow starthistle infestation had attempted control, using one or more of 19 methods. Early response reduced negative effects from yellow starthistle. Control methods learned from agricultural advisors were reported more effective than those learned elsewhere. Limitations to yellow starthistle control in our study population resulted from incomplete information regarding control methods, complexity of weed control in heterogeneous landscapes, inconsistent application of methods, and lack of long-term planning for weed control. Such hindrances make it difficult for landowners to implement control methods promoted by researchers. This gap between science and practice contributes to the continued increase of yellow starthistle within the study region. To shrink this gap, researchers and agricultural advisors can incorporate environmental heterogeneity into applied agricultural research, use land stewards' knowledge and experience, and increase public education.     

Liability and Prescribed Fire: Perception and Reality

Changing climate and fuel accumulation are increasing wildfire risks across the western United States. This has led to calls for fire management reform, including the systematic use of prescribed fire. Although use of prescribed fire by private landowners in the southern Great Plains has increased during the past 30 yr, studies have determined that liability concerns are a major reason why many landowners do not use or promote the use of prescribed fire. Generally, perceptions of prescribed fire ? related liability are based on concerns over legal repercussions for escaped fire. This paper reviews the history and current legal liability standards used in the United States for prescribed fire, it examines how perceived and acceptable risk decisions about engagement in prescribed burning and other activities differ, and it presents unanticipated outcomes in two cases of prescribed fire insurance aimed at promoting the use of prescribed fire. We demonstrate that the empirical risk of liability from escaped fires is minimal (< 1%) and that other underlying factors may be leading to landowners’ exaggerated concerns of risk of liability when applying prescribed fire. We conclude that providing liability insurance may not be the most effective approach for increasing the use of prescribed fire by private landowners. Clearly differentiating the risks of applying prescribed fire from those of catastrophic wildfire damages, changing state statutes to reduce legal liability for escaped fire, and expanding landowner membership in prescribed burn associations may be more effective alternatives for attaining this goal. Fear of liability is a major deterrent to the use of prescribed fire; however, an evaluation of the risks from escaped fire does not support perceptions that using prescribed fire as a land management tool is risky. Prescribed burning associations and agencies that support land management improvement have an important role to play in spreading this message.     

Factors impacting hunter access to private lands in southeast Minnesota

White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) have important socioeconomic and ecological impacts in the United States. Hunting is considered to be important for the effective management of deer and relies on access to privately owned lands. In 2013, we surveyed nonindustrial private landowners in southeast Minnesota and created two logit models to examine factors that impact landowners’ decision to (a) allow public hunting access and (b) post private property. Parcel characteristics were found to impact landowner decisions to allow hunting access, particularly the size of the property and whether it was posted. Hunting access to small properties was more likely to be restricted to family, friends, and neighbors (83%) compared to medium (74%) or large properties (60%). Hunter concerns (e.g., liability) and knowledge about deer management was significant in both models, suggesting there are opportunities to educate landowners about the importance of allowing public hunting access and available liability protections.     

政策认知、执行力度与资源化利用满意度——基于河北省380家生猪养殖主体调研数据(上)

参与主体对于政策的评价是衡量政策实施效果的重要指标，探明政策参与主体满意度影响因素有助于了解主体自身需求，从而提高政策实施水平。文章基于对河北省380家生猪养殖主体调研数据，运用多元有序Logistic回归方法，分析生猪养殖主体自身政策认知以及相关政策执行力度对畜禽养殖主体废弃物资源化利用满意度的影响。结果表明：养殖主体资源化利用政策了解程度能够显著提升其资源化利用政策满意度；仅考虑养殖主体政策参与力度，随着参与力度增加，满意度亦会显著提升。但综合考虑其他因素，参与力度对于满意度提升效果则不再显著；养殖主体感知政策执行力度增加不利于政策满意度提升。此外，生猪养殖主体废弃物资源化利用政策了解程度增加，可以显著提升其报告资源化利用政策“满意”可能性。而单纯提高资源化利用政策执行力度并不能显著提高养殖主体资源化利用政策满意度。因此，要提高养殖主体政策满意度，应多渠道提升宣传力度，鼓励养殖主体积极参与，提高其参与意识，不断改善现有政策执行方式。     

Understanding Management Decisions of Absentee Landowners: More Than Just Presence-Absence

Ownership and management of North American rangelands has become increasingly diverse, prompting a need to better understand how changing demographics and values relate to individual land management decisions and land cover. Absentee landowners, who reside away from their rural property, are a growing segment of this changing social landscape. The implications of absentee ownership are not clearly understood, perhaps because the absentee concept is ambiguously defined and inconsistently specified. We introduce the construct of involvement with one’s land to clarify and reframe the absentee landowner concept. We analyzed data from a mail survey of rangeland owners in central Texas to explore the relationship between absentee land ownership and the use of brush management to restore woody-plant invaded grasslands. We employed an information-theoretic approach to compare candidate models using indicators of absenteeism (permanent residence on land and distance of permanent residence from land) and involvement. We measured involvement with one’s land as hours per week operating or working one’s land. We conducted path analysis to examine the relationship between absenteeism and brush management as a function of involvement. Involvement in land management was the best predictor of brush management behavior. Absenteeism, as measured through presence-absence or as distance from land, had no relationship with brush management unless mediated by the involvement construct. Segmenting landowners based solely on the location of their full-time residence provides little information on brush management behavior because it neglects the relationship that landowners may have with their land, regardless of residency. The absentee landowner concept is central to understanding the dynamics of rangeland management and important to get right. Our analysis suggests that getting it right means knowing more than the location of the residence of the landowner.     

Wildlife Value Orientations Among Hunters,Landowners, and the General Public: A Danish Comparative Quantitative Study

This article examined wildlife value orientations among hunters (n = 1,130) and landowners (n = 1,207) in comparison to the general public (n = 1,001 adults) in Denmark, a highly urbanized European country. Respondents were categorized into four value types based on their responses to 19 statements. Significant differences in wildlife value orientations were found. Mutualists and distanced dominated in the public; most landowners and hunters were utilitarian followed by pluralist. Male hunters were more utilitarian than female. More active hunters were more utilitarian; hunters belonging to a hunting association were more utilitarian than those who did not belong to associations. Full-time farmers were more utilitarian than part-time farmers, and conventional farmers were more utilitarian than organic farmers. No significant difference with regard to residence for all three groups was found. Future studies should link what landowners and hunters actually do for the wildlife, and what the influencing factors are (e.g., incentive schemes) with their wildlife value orientations.     

基于参与性调查的退牧还草政策可持续性分析——以黄河源区为例

牧户是牧区最基本的生产单元,是退牧还草工程的主体和直接参与者,他们的经济行为和认知响应将会对工程的实施产生重要影响。研究采用参与式农户评估方法,就牧户对退牧还草工程的态度,退牧还草工程对牧户的经济影响等问题展开调查,结果表明,黄河源区的牧民已经认识到了天然草地退化的严重性,能够顾全大局实施退牧还草工程,并取得了阶段性生态效益。然而,由于缺乏牧民的广泛参与,政府的移民安置方案缺乏灵活性,移民区产业结构调整水平较低,牧民的生存和发展受到影响,大部分牧民认为他们的利益没有得到保障,并影响到退牧还草政策的持续执行。建议在工程实施过程中,应充分考虑当地牧民的意见和建议,并将其整合到工程实施中,将会有利于工程目标的实现。     

Human-carnivore conflict in China: a review of current approaches with recommendations for improved management

Human-wildlife conflict (HWC) is a conservation concern that increasingly threatens the continued existence of some of the world's most endangered species. With an increase in human population, urban sprawl and subsequent encroachment on wild land, human and wildlife interaction has become inevitable. In the majority of cases, this interaction results in a negative outcome for humans, wildlife or both. In China, these key elements, along with a decrease in wild prey species, have resulted in the expansion of HWC encounters, and the need for alleviating this conflict has become a conservation priority. Loss of human life, livestock and/or crops is most often the catalysts that fuel HWC. Techniques to alleviate conflict around the world have included preventative measures and mitigation techniques, such as financial compensation and other incentive programs. Both types of measures have had variable success. We review the current status of human-carnivore conflict management in China, and, drawing lessons from around the globe, we make recommendations for improving conservation management in China. For example, an increase in law enforcement in nature reserves is vital to reducing human disturbance in prime carnivore habitat, thereby reducing conflict encounters. Also, modifications to current wildlife compensation programs, so that they are linked with preventative measures, will ensure that moral hazards are avoided. Furthermore, investigating the potential for a community self-financed insurance scheme to fund compensation and increasing efforts to restore wild prey populations will improve the outcome for wildlife conservation. Ultimately, HWC management in China will greatly benefit from an integrative approach.     

Reshaping women's land rights on communal rangeland

This paper aims to contribute to the debates on communal rangelands and analyses the gendered dimension of land rights and land access in the rural areas of Namaqualand. The actual gender relations within rural communities and the emergence of strategies that are being pursued in communal land processes are obscured and often ignored in policies about communal rangelands, which overemphasise ‘the ecological and economic impact’ and the balancing of these dimensions. As active, primary users, women play a central role in livelihoods supported by communal rangelands yet their access to land is mediated through their relationships with men, effectively circumventing women's land autonomy. A wider debate is necessary to advance the largely superficial policy considerations of women's position in relation to communal rangelands land and their social exclusion on the basis of traditional control of land, forms of access and claiming of use rights. The paper discusses the complexity of land rights under communal land tenure and argues that, despite traditional and policy barriers, women in traditional systems of male-dominated land rights have had some success in accessing communal rangelands. Greater policy impetus is necessary to leverage equitable and independent land access for women amidst debates about management of communal rangelands.     

Motivations for Enrollment Into the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program in the James River Basin of South Dakota

The Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) targets high-priority conservation needs (e.g., water quality, wildlife habitat) by paying landowners an annual rental rate to remove environmentally sensitive or agriculturally unproductive lands from rowcrop production, and then implement conservation practices on these lands. This study examined motivations of South Dakota landowners for enrolling in the James River Basin CREP. All 517 newly enrolled landowners were mailed a questionnaire in 2014 measuring demographics, behaviors, opinions, and motivations (60% response rate). Cluster analysis of 10 motivations for enrolling identified three motivation groups (wildlife = 40%, financial = 35%, environmental = 25%). The financial group had the youngest mean age (62 years), followed by the wildlife (65) and environmental groups (68). Among respondents, 43% favored the public access requirement of this CREP with the environmental group most in favor. Understanding landowner enrollment motivations and decision criteria will assist in strategies (e.g., financial incentives, increasing yield via habitat restoration) for increasing future participation.