Steven J. Taff

Implicit Prices of Wetland Easements in Areas of Production Agriculture

Impacts of Fish and Wildlife Service wetland easements on agricultural land values in North Dakota were estimated by regressing sale prices on physical and institutional characteristics of sold parcels. While easements on temporary wet-lands did not influence prices, each additional acre of permanent wetland under easement decreased average prices by

Mainstreaming ecosystem services in state-level conservation planning: progress and future needs

321 (–79%). Because non-eased permanent wetlands were shown to reduce land prices by

Does forest land posted against trespass really mean no hunter access

161/acre, we can estimate the implicit price of a wetland easement per se to be

Current and future ethanol production technologies: costs of production and rates of return on invested capital.

160/ acre—6% below historical easement payment levels in the study area. (JEL Q15, Q32)

The Influence of Wetland Type and Wetland Proximity on Residential Property Values

Ecosystem services (ES) have become an important focus of the conservation movement but have yet to be mainstreamed into environmental policy and management, especially at the state and federal levels. Adoption of an ES approach requires agency personnel to have knowledge or experience in implementing an ES approach and metrics that link potential actions to impacts on ES. We characterize the degree to which ES considerations are taken into account in setting priorities for conservation acquisitions in the U.S. state of Minnesota. We assess two core dimensions of an ES approach: (1) multiobjective targeting and (2) measuring program benefits in terms of increases in human well-being. We assess the degree to which these two dimensions occur in statute and in conservation program decision making. We find that state statute provides clear support for an ES approach in conservation funding mechanisms. However, we find that many of the programs funded through those mechanisms have more traditional habitat-centric approaches. In contrast to statutory emphasis, water quality related metrics were not prominent. We recommend expanding current prioritization systems to include a broader suite of metrics that are linked to human well-being to further mainstream ES in Minnesota. These metrics can be generated from existing data and would allow program managers to better communicate the public benefits of conservation spending.

Environmental benefits of cropland conversion to hybrid poplar: economic and policy considerations

Hunters report diminishing access to private forest land in the United States due to increasing numbers of landowners posting their land against trespass. While many hunters assume posting is synonymous with prohibited access, the relationship between the two is not clear. To address this issue, we predicted the likelihood a family forest landowner who posts their property will, in fact, allow hunter access. Factors that influence this likelihood were identified. We found that the probability of a landowner who posts allowing access was approximately 47%, with all explanatory variables evaluated at their means. Factors decreasing the likelihood of access included a perception that allowing access would interfere with their own hunting or result in property damage. Factors increasing the likelihood of allowing access included increasing parcel size, a perception of excellent hunting opportunity on their parcel, and a high percentage of the surrounding area that is open to public hunting.

What does it take to get family forest owners to enroll in a forest stewardship-type program?

Considering the production goals for cellulosic and advanced biofuels in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA), this study compares production costs and returns on invested capital for two current and three proposed ethanol technologies. Two methods use corn grain as the feedstock, and three use cellulosic feedstocks of corn stover, switchgrass and wood chips. Baseline levels are established so sensitivity analyses of rates of return on invested capital can be performed as market and performance variables vary. Monte Carlo techniques are used to determine distributions of rates of return for each technology capable of producing ethanol.