Catherine M. Keske

Distributed biochar and bioenergy coproduction: a regionally specific case study of environmental benefits and economic impacts

Biochar has been advocated as a method of sequestering carbon while simultaneously improving crop yields and agro‐ecosystem sustainability. It can be produced from a wide variety of biomass feedstocks using different thermochemical conversion technologies with or without the recovery of energy coproducts, resulting in chars of differing quality and a range of overall system greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation outcomes. This analysis expands on previous sustainability studies by proposing a mechanistic life cycle GHG and economic operating cost assessment model for the coproduction of biochar and bioenergy from biomass residue feedstocks, with a case study for north‐central Colorado presented. Production is modeled as a continuous function of temperature for slow pyrolysis, fast pyrolysis, and gasification systems. Biochar environmental benefits (C sequestration, N2O suppression, crop yield improvements) are predicted in terms of expected liming value and recalcitrance. System‐level net GHG mitigation is computed, and net returns are estimated that reflect the variable economic costs of production, the agronomic value of biochar based on agricultural limestone or fertilizer displacement, and the value of GHG mitigation, with results compared to the alternate use of char for energy production. Case study results indicate that slow pyrolysis systems can mitigate up to 1.4 Mg CO2eq/Mg feedstock consumed, provided a favorable feedstock is utilized, production air pollutant emissions are mitigated, and energy coproducts are recovered. The model suggests that while financial returns are generally greater when char is consumed for energy (biocoal) than when used as a soil amendment (biochar), chars produced through high‐temperature conversion processes will have greater GHG‐mitigation value as biochar. The biochar scenario reaches economic parity at carbon prices as low as

Factors Impacting Agricultural Landowners' Willingness to Enter into Conservation Easements: A Case Study

50/Mg CO2eq for optimal scenarios, despite conservative modeling assumptions. This model is a step toward spatially explicit assessment and optimization of biochar system design across different feedstocks, conversion technologies, and agricultural soils.

DID THE GREAT RECESSION REDUCE VISITOR SPENDING AND WILLINGNESS TO PAY FOR NATURE‐BASED RECREATION? EVIDENCE FROM 2006 AND 2009

Agricultural lands offer an abundance of environmental goods and services, yet face residential development pressures. Conservation easements are frequently used to protect both productive land and environmental amenities. The landowner retains ownership, and may donate development rights or receive compensation for permanently limiting development on the property. Focus groups were conducted with agricultural landowners in Wyoming and Colorado to explore factors affecting their preferences for conservation easements. Results from the focus groups reveal that landowners have concerns about providing easements in perpetuity. They also considered public access to and loss of managerial control of their property as obstacles. Focus-group results indicated that landowners valued the provision of public goods, such as wildlife habitat and open space, to neighboring communities, and generally felt something important would be lost to their communities if their lands were developed. Addressing landowner concerns could potentially increase the volume of easement transactions.

Regional Economic Contribution and Net Economic Values of Opening Access to Three Colorado Fourteeners

Outdoor recreation is a large industry that can diversify public land‐based economies that have traditionally relied upon resource extraction. However, what happens to nature‐based recreation visitor spending and benefits during times of national economic recession? To address this question, we replicate a 2006 high mountain recreation study in the same region 3 years later during the 2009 recession. Results indicate that nature‐based public land recreation in this area did not experience reductions in most categories of visitor spending or total number of visits during the recession. These results imply that nature‐based recreation may represent an economically stable industry in public land mountain economies. Total benefits to the visitors are also quite stable, only dropping from

Consulting communities: using audience response system (ARS) technology to assess community preferences for sustainable recreation and tourism development.

129 per person per trip in 2006 to

Visitor Willingness to Pay U.S. Forest Service Recreation Fees in New West Rural Mountain Economies

120 in 2009. This 7% drop in willingness to pay is not statistically significant at conventional levels.

Abatement costs of soil conservation in China's Loess Plateau: Balancing income with conservation in an agricultural system

Climbing ‘Fourteeners’, peaks whose summits rise above 14,000 feet, is a popular recreational activity in Colorado. Access to these popular peaks has been jeopardized by liability issues on privately owned peaks and by overuse on publicly owned peaks. To date, there has been little analysis on the economic benefits provided by Fourteeners. This study finds that opening access to three closed peaks presents an infusion into local and state economies of 25 and 45 jobs, respectively. Access to the peaks is worth US

The Economic Value of Novel Means of Ascending High Mountain Peaks: A Travel Cost Demand Model of Pikes Peak Cog Railway Riders, Automobile Users and Hikers

167 per person each trip; a relatively high value in the context of the recreation economics literature.

Native Grasses for Biomass Production at High Elevations

Audience response system (ARS) technology (also known as “clickers”) has emerged as an educational tool that promotes active learning. This paper describes how ARS works and how it can also be used in research to assess community preferences for tourism development. A case study that used ARS technology shows how stakeholder preferences for extraction, heritage tourism and recreation within two rural mountain economies in the US west were effectively assessed. The use of ARS was backed by situation assessment procedures to determine appropriate stimulus questions probing trade-offs, perceived costs/benefits and cultural fit. A detailed series of key results measured community preferences and were made available to guide policymaking and future empirical survey work. Public meeting arrangements, publicity, structure and moderation for the ARS work is described and discussed. Evaluation of the use of ARS technology showed high levels of participant satisfaction with both the technology and the situation assessment procedures, and the emergence of potential tourism development actions.

The Cost for Agriculture to Coexist With Wildlife in Colorado

This study uses a contingent valuation model to evaluate visitors’ stated willingness to pay (WTP) for recreation at Colorado “Fourteeners”: peaks that rise higher than 14,000 feet. The study also assesses the respondents’ self-reported response uncertainty. One scenario queries respondents about a hypothetical situation in which they would pay an entrance fee where 80% of the funds are used on-site, and the degree of certainty with which they answered the question. Like prior articles from this 6-year project (2006-2012), results indicate a high WTP for recreation on Colorado Fourteeners. Results reveal that 62% of respondents are willing to incur an additional fee of