Leon E. Danielson

A Hedonic Study of the Effects of Erosion Control and Drainage on Farmland Values

Valuing farmland improvements is important for individual farmers and policy makers. This paper demonstrates the use of a hedonic land value study to determine the value of erosion control and drainage using data from North Carolina. Land values are significantly affected by both potential erosivity and drainage requirements. This studys estimates are compared with estimates derived from a variety of other types of studies.

Using the AMOEBA approach to measure progress toward ecosystem sustainability within a shellfish restoration project in North Carolina

Abstract Sustainable development, a concept of concern today in the political decision-making arena, captures and combines the need for economic development and the urgency of ecosystem protection. Sustainability indicators not only describe the environmental situation and the current burden on it; they also show what environmental burden the ecosystem is able to withstand in the long-run. Sustainability indicators tell us if, and to what degree, we are making progress toward the goal of sustainable development. This paper examines the purposes and requirements of sustainability indicators, using the AMOEBA approach as its main focus. AMOEBA, in the Dutch language, stands for ‘general method of ecosystem description and assessment’. In the AMOEBA approach, quantitative and verifiable objectives are developed that allow for a quantitative description and assessment of ecosystems. The AMOEBA approach is a tool in aiding political decision makers to better understand the ecological status of an area of concern. AMOEBA is described both in general terms and with respect to its application at Jumping Run Creek shellfish restoration project in North Carolina. The project seeks to mitigate impacts to watershed hydrology due to land use changes that contribute to excessive bacterial loading and bed closure. Parameters being studied are indicators of bacterial stores, hydrologic modification and building density. An altered AMOEBA was developed which graphically presents the selected indicators and allows for an assessment of ecosystem impairments.

Private vs public economics of prairie wetland allocation

Abstract This paper examines the nature of the divergence between private and social net benefits of wetland drainage. To the extent wetlands have social value not considered by landowners, the private development of wetland for use as cropland exceeds the optimum unless the transactions cost of overcoming the externality exceeds social value. For a three-county area in north central Minnesota, data on the private incentive to drain prairie potholes are presented based upon estimates of the private costs and returns to wetland development. A survey provides data on landowner attitudes toward wetland preservation and their willingness to participate in fee simple and easement incentive programs.

The impact of tax and reforestation incentives on net returns from pocosin development for sil viculture

Federal and state reforestation cost-share and income tax programs increase the economic incentives to grow timber, including production on pocosin wetlands that must be cleared and drained before planting. Elimination of the capital gains exclusion by the 1986 Tax Reform Act is estimated to reduce by 26 percent the rate of return to clearing and draining pocosin wetlands for timber production. The simulated loss of reforestation cost-share would reduce the rate of return by about 16 percent, while loss of investment tax credit and cost amortization tax incentives would reduce the rate of return by 20 percent. Removing all three programs simultaneously is estimated to reduce the rate of return by 48 percent. Several other factors influence the rate of return, including the amount of marketable timber on the tract at the time of clearing, the cost of ditching and draining, the productivity of the land, timber prices, and the marginal tax rate of the producer.

Economic Trade-Offs and the North Carolina Shrimp Fishery

The North Carolina shrimp resource consists of three major species, brown (Penaeus aztecus), pink (P. duorarum), and white (P. setiferus). Together, they comprise the states most important fishery. Two of these species exist in Pamlico Sound, the principal fishing area. The brown shrimp population represents the primary resource in terms of landings and value received. Members of this species use the many creeks and bays along the North Carolina coast as nursery areas during postlarval stages of development. As individuals mature, they migrate into the deeper waters of Pamlico Sound where they become vulnerable to .fishing gear. Fishing activity begins in July and continues until the shrimp migrate to offshore waters, generally in late September or early October, at which time they are lost to the fishery. The pink shrimp population constitutes the second major shrimp species in North Carolina. These individuals enter Pamlico Sound throughout the summer and utilize the Sound as a nursery area for postlarval growth. Pink shrimp achieve commercial size in October and November. During the winter, pink shrimp remain in Pamlico Sound; surviving adults are harvested in May and June before they migrate to the ocean. Thus, during August and September, brown and pink shrimp coexist in Pamlico Sound, but at different stages of maturation. Pink shrimp utilize the brown shrimp fishing grounds as a nursery area. As a result, precommercial-size pink shrimp are caught incidentally by fishermen harvesting brown shrimp because the fishing gear does not perfectly discriminate between juvenile and adult shrimp. The juvenile pink shrimp culled from the catch are discarded overboard. Most are killed in the landing, sorting, and discard process. The purpose of this study is to analyze the incidental catch (or discard) problem to ascertain whether discard abatement policies should be instituted during August and September to protect juvenile pink shrimp. Interest is focused on whether or not the range of observed discard rates is sufficiently large to warrant protection. Because of th lack of required data, the study is primarily a simulation analysis.