MODELING ECONOMIC AND ECOLOGICAL BENEFITS OF POST-FIRE REVEGETATION IN THE GREAT BASIN

This study employs a Markov chain model of vegetation dynamics to examine the economic and ecological benefits of post-fire revegetation in the Great Basin sagebrush steppe. The analysis is important because synergies between wildland fire and invasive weeds in this ecosystem are likely to result in the loss of native biodiversity, less predictable forage availability for livestock and wildlife, reduced watershed stability and water quality, and increased costs and risk associated with firefighting. The analysis is based on a parameterized state-and-transition model of vegetation change for Wyoming big sagebrush community in the Great Basin sagebrush steppe. This conceptual model was formulated into a quantitative, predictive model by implementing it as a Markov chain process that links vegetation change, management, and costs. Simulation results were used to develop cost curves for achieving ecological goals and to evaluate uncertainty in future vegetation conditions. The Markov chain model shows that post-fire revegetation using either a native seed mix or crested wheatgrass was more effective than no revegetation for achieving ecosystem objectives. Further, post-fire revegetation with either seed mix cost less than no revegetation because of resulting reductions in fire suppression costs. Consequently, post-fire revegetation makes both ecological and economic sense, and the choice of seed mix should depend on the prioritization of management objectives. Identifying the economic and ecological tradeoffs of different management strategies should enable improved management of the sagebrush-steppe, and Markov processes provide a straight-forward method for identifying these trade-offs.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

TESTING FOR DIFFERENTIAL EFFECTS OF FOREST FIRES ON HIKING AND MOUNTAIN BIKING DEMAND AND BENEFITS

Surveys of visitors to National Forests in Colorado were conducted to determine whether different fire ages and presence of crown fires have different effects on hiking and mountain biking recreation visits and benefits. Actual and intended behavior data were combined using a count-data travel cost model. The intended behavior trip questions asked about changes in number of trips due to the presence of a high-intensity crown fire, prescribed fire, and a 20-year-old high-intensity fire at the area respondents were visiting. Using the estimated recreation demand function, years since a non-crown fire had statistically significant positive effect on the trip demand of hikers. In contrast, presence of crown fires had no statistically significant effect on the quantity of hiker trips, but had a significant and negative effect on mountain biking trips. Crown fires also had a large effect on the value per trip, with crown fires increasing the value per hiking trip but lowering the value per mountain biking trip.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Application of Computable General Equilibrium Model to Derive Impacts of Surface Water Reallocation Policy

Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

An Empirical Examination of Optimal Rotations in a Multiple-Use Forest

Fires are an important and natural component of forest ecosystems that affect the timber value of forests, and thus optimal rotations. Fire also affects amenity values provided by forests. This analysis examines the relationships among forest fire risk, timber values, and amenity values in a Faustmann rotation framework. An empirical application of the model is presented where jack pine growth in the Canadian Shield region is integrated with the nonmarket values associated with wilderness recreation. The results suggest that while the rotation period ofjack pine is shorter in the presence'of fire risk, the inclusion of this particular amenity would lengthen rotation periods. The level of visits to the wilderness area has a significant effect on the rotation period. Failure to account for backcountry recreation in rotations of forests in multiple-use wilderness areas of the Canadian Shield would result in suboptimal management

Wideband Digital Signal Processing Test-Bed for Radiometric RFI Mitigation

Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) is a persistent and growing problem experienced by spaceborne microwave radiometers. Recent missions such as SMOS, SMAP, and GPM have detected RFI in L, C, X, and K bands. To proactively deal with this issue, microwave radiometers must (1) Utilize new algorithms for RFI detection (2) Utilize fast digital back-ends that sample at hundreds of MHz. The wideband digital signal processing testbed (WB-RFI) is a platform that allows rapid development and testing various RFI detection and mitigation algorithms

Economic Impacts of Non-Native Forest Insects in the Continental United States

Reliable estimates of the impacts and costs of biological invasions are critical to developing credible management, trade and regulatory policies. Worldwide, forests and urban trees provide important ecosystem services as well as economic and social benefits, but are threatened by non-native insects. More than 450 non-native forest insects are established in the United States but estimates of broad-scale economic impacts associated with these species are largely unavailable. We developed a novel modeling approach that maximizes the use of available data, accounts for multiple sources of uncertainty, and provides cost estimates for three major feeding guilds of non-native forest insects. For each guild, we calculated the economic damages for five cost categories and we estimated the probability of future introductions of damaging pests. We found that costs are largely borne by homeowners and municipal governments. Wood- and phloem-boring insects are anticipated to cause the largest economic impacts by annually inducing nearly $1.7 billion in local government expenditures and approximately$830 million in lost residential property values. Given observations of new species, there is a 32% chance that another highly destructive borer species will invade the U.S. in the next 10 years. Our damage estimates provide a crucial but previously missing component of cost-benefit analyses to evaluate policies and management options intended to reduce species introductions. The modeling approach we developed is highly flexible and could be similarly employed to estimate damages in other countries or natural resource sectors

Economic Impacts of Non-Native Forest Insects in the Continental United States

Reliable estimates of the impacts and costs of biological invasions are critical to developing credible management, trade and regulatory policies. Worldwide, forests and urban trees provide important ecosystem services as well as economic and social benefits, but are threatened by non-native insects. More than 450 non-native forest insects are established in the United States but estimates of broad-scale economic impacts associated with these species are largely unavailable. We developed a novel modeling approach that maximizes the use of available data, accounts for multiple sources of uncertainty, and provides cost estimates for three major feeding guilds of non-native forest insects. For each guild, we calculated the economic damages for five cost categories and we estimated the probability of future introductions of damaging pests. We found that costs are largely borne by homeowners and municipal governments. Wood- and phloem-boring insects are anticipated to cause the largest economic impacts by annually inducing nearly $1.7 billion in local government expenditures and approximately$830 million in lost residential property values. Given observations of new species, there is a 32% chance that another highly destructive borer species will invade the U.S. in the next 10 years. Our damage estimates provide a crucial but previously missing component of cost-benefit analyses to evaluate policies and management options intended to reduce species introductions. The modeling approach we developed is highly flexible and could be similarly employed to estimate damages in other countries or natural resource sectors

EXISTENCE, OPTION, AND USER DEMANDS FOR NONMARKET RESOURCES

An ambitious survey of households in the Northeastern United States ' conducted during July of 1989 allows an unusual opportunity to make an empirical assessment of the effects upon individual resource valuations of different categories of demand for fresh-water recreational resources. The theoretical and empirical literature using contingent valuation methods to measure the demand for nonmarket goods typically emphasizes user demands only. By neglecting the magnitude of option and existence demands, the total social value of these resources (or changes in them) can be systematically understated. We are careful to address the simultaneity between demand status and individual environmental values, employing ordered probit models, censored normal regression models, and a generalization of selectivity correction models in an effort to uncover the true contribution of demand status to the explanation of resource values