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This paper develops a model that provides an objective framework for evaluating the concerns often cited by members of nearby communities and other state residents when potential sites for solid waste landfills are evaluated. An empirical version of the model is estimated using preference data collected in a paired comparison survey of Rhode Island residents, in which participants identify a preferred site and location for a landfill among two alternatives. The estimated model is used to assign scores to each characteristic describing the natural resources present at a site and the characteristics of the nearby community. The model estimates the proportion of voters who would choose each candidate site in a referendum that includes the complete set of alternatives. This simulated voting mechanism can be used to reduce a long list of technically desirable sites to a shorter list of sites that rank highly according to public preferences regarding natural resources and local community impacts.

This paper describes an approach to facility siting that ranks potential sites in terms of their social impacts. A contingent choice survey based on paired comparisons is used to construct a utility index to rank sites consistent with predicting results of a hypothetical referendum based on the attributes of the sites. The method is likely to be acceptable to public decision makers, since it is analogous to site scoring methods that have been commonly used. Indeed, our approach is currently being employed as part of a larger landfill site selection process in the state of Rhode Island.

Recent declines in amphibian populations have raised concern among conservation biologists, with habitat loss and degradation due to human activities among the leading causes. The most common policies used to protect the habitat of pond-breeding amphibians are wetland regulations that safeguard the wetland itself. However, many amphibians spend much of their adult lives foraging and over-wintering in upland habitats and exist as metapopulations with dispersal among ponds. With no consideration of lands in the dispersal matrix, wetland policies may be ineffective at protecting amphibians or other wetland species that disperse across the landscape. This paper examined the adequacy and cost effectiveness of alternative conservation policies and their corresponding land use patterns on the long-term persistence of pond-breeding amphibians in exurban landscapes. We used computer simulations to compare outcomes of wetland buffer policies and broader landscape-wide conservation policies across a variety of landscape scenarios, and we conducted sensitivity analyses on the model's species parameters in order to generalize our results to other wetland species. Results showed that, in the majority of human-dominated landscapes, some amount of dispersal matrix protection is necessary for long-term species persistence. However, in landscapes with extremely low-intensity land use (e.g., low-density residential housing) and high pond density, wetland buffer policies may be all that is required. It is not always more cost effective to protect core habitat over the dispersal matrix, a common conservation practice. Conservation costs that result from forgone residential, commercial, or agricultural activities can vary substantially but increase in a nonlinear manner regardless of land use zoning. There appears to be a threshold around an average habitat patch occupancy level of 80%, after which opportunity costs rise dramatically.

[1] We set forth an argument for the integration of social science research with natural science and engineering research in major research infrastructure investments addressing water science. A program of integrated observation of water resources offers great opportunities to address several environmental “grand challenges” identified by the National Research Council, including climate variability, institutions and resource use, and land use dynamics, and their importance for hydrologic forecasting. We argue that such a program has the potential to advance both water science and the contributing disciplines. However, to realize this potential, it is essential to recognize that social science requires critical infrastructure funding on the scale of advanced research facilities in the natural sciences and engineering.

This paper considers how six alternative rebate rules affect voluntary contributions in a threshold public-good experiment. The rules differ by (1) whether an individual can receive a proportional rebate of excess contributions, a winner-takes-all of any excess contributions, or a full rebate of one's contribution in the event the public good is provided and excess contributions exist, and (2) whether the probability of receiving a rebate is proportional to an individual's contribution relative to total contributions or is a simple uniform probability distribution set by the number of contributors. The paper adds to the existing experimental economics literature on threshold public goods by investigating both aggregate and individual demand revelation under the winner-take-all and random full-rebate rules. Half of the rules (proportional rebate, winner-take-all with uniform probability among all group members , and random full-rebate with uniform probability) provide total contributions that nearly equal total benefits, while the rest (winner-take-all with proportional probability, winner-take-all with uniform probability among contributors only , and random full-rebate with proportional probability) exceed benefits by over 30%. Only the proportional rebate rule is found to achieve both aggregate and individual demand revelation. Our experimental results have implications for both fundraisers and valuation practitioners.

This paper synthesizes familiar theories of nonrenewable and renewable resource economics in a two-sector, partial-equilibrium analysis of efficient trade-offs between renewable resource production and environmental development. The irreversible impacts of coastal zone development provide a motivating example. While development proceeds, the efficient harvest of renewable resources may exceed the “sustainable” rate. While development may involve several periods of growth and decline, once development begins it proceeds without significant interruptions. If a profitable renewable sector survives, development ceases before exhausting all profitable opportunities. Interdependent stocks reduce distinctions between resource types because each sector exhibits features of the other.

This paper challenges common assumptions about convexity in forest rotation models which optimize timber plus nontimber benefits. If a local optimum occurs earlier than the globally optimal age, policy based on marginal incentives may achieve suboptimal results. Policy-relevant nonconvexities are more likely if (i) nontimber benefits dominate for young stands while the optimal age depends primarily on timber benefits, or (ii) nontimber benefits dominate for mature stands and also determine the optimal age. Nonconvexities may create either temporary or persistent difficulties. Policymakers may improve efficiency by exploiting the relationship between the timber-only optimum and the global optimum.

The rural public may not only be concerned with the consequences of land management; residents may also have systematic preferences for policy instruments applied to management goals. Preferences for outcomes do not necessarily imply matching support for the underlying policy process. This study assesses relationships among support for elements of the policy process and preferences for management outcomes. Preferences are examined within the context of alternative proposals to manage growth and conserve landscape attributes in southern New England. Results are based on (a) stated preferences estimated from a multi-attribute contingent choice survey of rural residents, and (b) Likert-scale assessment of strength of support for land use policy tools. Findings indicate general but not universal correlation among policy support indicators and preferences for associated land use outcomes, but also confirm the suspicion that policy support and land use preference may not always coincide. Key Words: choice experiment, conservation, land use control, policy support, rural development, stated preference The rural public may not only be concerned with the consequences of land management, they may also have systematic preferences for policy procedures applied to management goals (Abdalla, 2001; Johnston, Swallow, and Weaver, 1999; Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development, 2002; McLeod, Woirhaye, and Menkhaus, 1999). There is no guarantee respondents will support policies that are consistent with their stated preferences for land use outcomes. Indeed, respondents may possess strong preferences for management outcomes (e.g., wildlife habitat, public access) while being unwilling to accept the management processes required to generate those outcomes (Johnston, 2002). Despite this possibility, the literature provides little information indicating whether preferences for management outcomes are correlated with support for policies associated with those outcomes. Consider the example of a scenic, rural viewshed. Residents may have strong preferences for the preservation of scenic amenities, and indeed may be willing to pay to preserve these attributes. However, they may be unwilling to accept changes in zoning or alternative land use regulations required to ensure these outcomes (e.g., required setbacks, increases in required road frontage). Despite a positive willingness to pay (WTP) for the management outcome, a lack of support for associated management tools may preclude welfare-improving policy change. This study examines relationships among the rural public's support for the policy process and the public's preferences and goals for land management and conservation outcomes. Preferences are considered within the context of alternative proposals to manage residential growth and conserve landscape attributes in southern New England. Results are based on (a) stated preferences estimated from a multi-attribute choice survey of rural residents,1 and (b) a Likert-scale assessment of strength of support for 21 growth management and conservation tools. Data are drawn from the Rhode Island Rural Land Use Survey-a survey developed and designed by the authors to assess rural residents' tradeoffs among attributes of residential development and conservation. Description of the Model and Analysis The choice experiment section of the Rhode Island Rural Land Use Survey asked respondents to consider and choose between two alternative development options for a hypothetical, 400-acre tract of forested land located in their town of residence, an area comprising just over 1% of the land area in each of the four towns sampled. Each presented option could differ across a set of spatial and nonspatial attributes. Analysis of these results provides insight into preferences for development and conservation tradeoffs-or management outcomes. A subsequent section of the survey asked respondents to indicate their degree of support for, or opposition to, 21 different land use management policy options. …

Ecosystem management may extend multiple use management, where economists identify and value a complex mix of ecosystem outputs. The dominant theme in conservation biology favors “safe minimum standard” (SMS) constraints on ecosystem attributes, which respond to complex and purely uncertain ecological knowledge and lead economists toward valuation questions that identify “tolerable” constraints. A hierarchical SMS constraint raises substitution possibilities among ecosystem-level components. Economists may identify unavoidable resource tradeoffs, such as in allocating land among elements of a reserve network, particularly when ecological wealth differs among geographically dispersed human communities. Economic and ecological ironies obfuscate intuitive contributions to ecosystem management policy.

Despite the many important uses (and potential abuses) of focus groups in survey design, the CV literature presents few guidelines to aid moderators in their interaction with focus group participants. This paper draws on the theory and practice of ethnographic interviewing to introduce general guidelines that can improve focus groups as an aid to CV research. The proposed guidelines illustrate types of questions that should reduce speculation and moderator-introduced bias in focus group responses, and improve the correspondence between focus group responses and actual behavior. The paper illustrates these ethnographic guidelines through a CV application concerning watershed resources.

[1] Efforts to value particular dimensions of environmental quality may misrepresent true social values if dimensions of environmental quality interact and researchers nonetheless seek to value single dimensions in isolation. While prior work illustrates that substitution among environmental improvements may occur, questions remain regarding the practical implications of such interactions for microlevel policy evaluation and whether similar effects occur when policies unavoidably include improvements in some resources and degradations in others. This paper identifies potential effects of preference interactions among watershed management components, with an emphasis on whether resource interactions can create substantial shifts in willingness to pay for policy changes.

A marginal cost pricing (MCP) policy for a publicly produced good leads to politically unacceptable price fluctuations when economies of scale exist in plant construction. A partial equilibrium analysis of water supply defines a general, optimal, constant price for water which is a weighted average of the annual marginal short run and capacity expansion costs. For special cases of arithmetic or geometric growth in demand, the demand growth rate and the discount rate determine the fraction of capital costs which a constant price will recover. Under conditions which favor the MCP policy, the constant pricing policy produces ⩾ 98.5% of the net benefits produced by the MCP policy.

Current recommendations for snag management, which focus on characteristics of individual snags or stocking levels in forests managed for timber production, not only obscure the importance of forest characteristics surrounding a potential nesting site but also fail to meet the management objectives or abilities of the small landowner. During the summers of 1978 and 1979, a random sample of 816 snags (standing dead trees) was studied in central New York. Sixty-seven percent of the sample was in mature maple (Acer spp.)-ash (Fraxinus spp.)-elm (Ulmus spp.), the remainder was in 2nd growth woodland. A set of 21 characteristics of snags and 19 characteristics of forest sites was analyzed to determine which best predicted bird use. Use was defined as the presence of -1 bird cavity in a snag or a forest site. Forest characteristics were sampled in randomly located 0.049-ha circles (N = 61) in 1979. Stepwise logistic regression revealed that forest characteristics (total snag basal area, tree species diversity, and number of tree species) were more reliable predictors of bird use than were snag characteristics (diameter at breast height [dbh], amount of bark, height, and species). Snag management based on selecting suitable forest sites and on maintaining or creating suitable snags within those sites is recommended. Use of logistic regression models by field managers is discussed. J. WILDL. MANAGE. 50(4):576-583 Numerous bird species, especially cavity nesters, depend upon snags for roosting or nesting sites (Scott et al. 1977). Many of these species range throughout the northeastern United States where most of the forested land is privately owned and, therefore, where maintenance of cavity-nesting bird populations depends upon the management decisions of the landowner. If avian use of snags and forest sites can be associated with some easily measured variable, management for cavity nesters can be incorporated easily into forest management strategies (Hicks 1983). Agricultural trends in New York are typical of many northeastern states (Morris 1977). Once occupying 90% of New York lands, agricultural interests (excluding forestry) now occupy