Social preferences toward energy generation with woody biomass from public forests in Montana,USA |
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| Affiliation: | 1. University of Montana, College of Forestry and Conservation, 32 Campus Dr., Missoula, MT 59812, USA;2. University of the Sunshine Coast, School of Business, Sippy Downs, Qld 4556, Australia;3. U.S. Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, 800 East Beckwith, Missoula, MT 59801, USA;1. Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Department of Medicine;2. Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology;3. School of Public Health and Health Systems, University of Waterloo;4. Institute for Infocomm Research, A*STAR, Singapore;1. Department of Earth and Environmental Studies, Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ, 07043, United States;2. School of Forestry & Wildlife Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, United States;3. Department of Forest Resources & Environmental Conservation, Virginia Polytechnic and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, United States;1. Institute for Environmental Economics and World Trade, Leibniz University Hannover, Königsworther Platz 1, 30167 Hannover, Germany;2. Department of Public Health, Otago University, P.O. Box 7343, Wellington 6021, New Zealand;1. Biodiversity Governance Research Unit (BIOGOV), Center for Philosophy of Law (CPDR), Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium;2. WAVES — Wealth Accounting and Valuation of Ecosystem Services, Agriculture and Environmental Services Department, The World Bank, Washington, DC 20433, USA;3. Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics — TESAF, University of Padova, Campus di Agripolis, Viale dell''Università, 16, 35020 Legnaro, Pd, Italy;1. School of Science and Engineering, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 4HN, United Kingdom;2. The James Hutton Institute, Invergowrie, Dundee DD2 5DA, United Kingdom;3. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region;4. School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, at The James Hutton Institute, Invergowrie, Dundee DD2 5DA, United Kingdom;5. School of Agriculture and Environment, University of Western Australia, Perth 6009, Australia |
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| Abstract: | In Montana, USA, there are substantial opportunities for mechanized thinning treatments on public forests to reduce the likelihood of severe and damaging wildfires and improve forest health. These treatments produce residues that can be used to generate renewable energy and displace fossil fuels. The choice modeling method is employed to examine the marginal willingness of Montanans' to pay (MWTP) for woody biomass energy produced from treatments in their public forests. The survey instrument elicited social preferences for important co-benefits and costs of woody biomass energy generation in Montana, namely the extent of healthy forests, the number of large wildfires, and local air quality. Positive and statistically significant MWTP is found for woody biomass energy generation, forest health and air quality. MWTP to avoid large wildfires is statistically insignificant. However, MWTP for woody biomass energy diminishes quickly, revealing that Montanans do not support public forestland management that produces more than double the current level of woody biomass harvested for energy generation. These findings can be used by policy makers and public land managers to estimate the social benefits of utilizing residues from public forest restoration or fuel treatment programs to generate energy. |
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