VOLUNTARY CONSERVATION OF ENDANGERED SPECIES: WHEN DOES "NO SURPRISES" MEAN NO CONSERVATION

Voluntary conservation agreements are becoming increasingly important in implementing the Endangered Species Act on private land. We analyze when such agreements arise and what level of conservation they generate in the presence of uncertainty about future government regulation and conservation benefits. Our results suggest that the likelihood of an agreement depends on the availability of assurances regarding future regulation. In particular, an agreement may not be reached if there is a high degree of uncertainty regarding future conservation requirements. The level of conservation attainable from an agreement depends on the likelihood of regulation, the bargaining power of the parties, the irreversibility of development, and the availability of assurances. Under conditions likely to hold in practice, a higher conservation level may be achieved by offering assurances. However, this level of conservation will not be optimal, and may be lower than that attainable from regulation.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

CONSERVATION OF ENDANGERED SPECIES: CAN INCENTIVES WORK FOR PRIVATE LANDOWNERS?

It has been argued that the traditional regulatory approach of the Endangered Species Act, based on land-use restrictions, has failed to protect endangered species on private land. In response, there has been a call for the use of incentives to complement this regulatory approach. This paper examines the potential of incentives programs to elicit conservation-oriented management choices from landowners. Data obtained from a survey of non-industrial private forest owners in Oregon and Washington is used to examine the effectiveness of various incentives. The results indicate that incentives, in particular compensation and assurances, can be effective in increasing the conservation effort provided by landowners. The results also suggest that conservation policy for private lands could be improved by relying on a combination of incentives, including financial incentives and assurances, rather than exclusively on the threat of regulation.endangered species, incentives, regulation, Endangered Species Act, conservation, Environmental Economics and Policy, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Q220, Q230, Q280, K320,

SUCCESS OR FAILURE? ORDERED PROBIT APPROACHES TO MEASURING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) is one of the most controversial pieces of environmental legislation. Part of the controversy stems from doubts about its effectiveness in generating improvements in species viability. This paper uses ordered probit models to test whether the ESA has been successful in promoting species recovery. We find a negative correlation between listing and species recovery. Additionally, we find evidence of positive effects for species-specific spending and the achievement of recovery goals. The evidence also shows that recovery plan completion and the designation of critical habit are not correlated or negatively correlated with recovery.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Allocating Conservation Resources under the Endangered Species Act

The necessity to develop a priority system to guide the allocation of resources to the conservation of endangered species is widely recognized. The economic theory of biodiversity has established a framework to do so, and has identified priority criteria that should be considered when making conservation decisions. This paper uses a random effects ordered probit model of endangered species recovery to simulate the effects of reallocating conservation funds among species listed under the Endangered Species Act according to these criteria. Our results suggest that if the goal of conservation policy is to preserve a diverse set of species, reallocating conservation funds according to criteria identified by economic theory would yield an improvement over actual spending patterns without significant tradeoffs in terms of overall species recovery.Endangered Species Act, endangered species, recovery plans, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, biodiversity, critical habitat, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

White Lies.

The audio-visual research asks why certain events, experiences and aspects of everyday life are rendered visible and made public while others are elided or overlooked in contemporary Nepal. This subject is explored from the point of view (P.O.V.) of photographers based in the country. The main output of this research is an observational documentary film, White Lies, The Emancipated Spectator in Contemporary Nepal. The provided imagery highlights how photographic forms of representation are linked with notions of power and recalls Hall's argument that "What is not said is as important to what is said as the things that are actually in the picture" (2013: 15). Acknowledging the events during fieldwork the research also questions the idea of film as a method to generate knowledge.La recherche audio-visuelle questionne pourquoi certains événements, expériences et aspects de la vie quotidienne sont rendus visibles et rendus publics tandis que d'autres sujets sont éludés ou négligés au Népal contemporain. Le sujet est exploré à partir du point de vue (P.O.V.) de photographes vivant au Népal. Le corpus photographique fourni met en évidence la manière dont les formes photographiques de représentation sont liées aux notions de pouvoir et rappelle l'argument de Hall: "Ce qui n'est pas dit est aussi important pour ce qui est dit que ce qui est réellement dans l'image" (Hall 2013: 15). Le résultat principal de cette recherche est un film documentaire d’observation; Pieux mensonges. Le spectateur émancipé du Népal contemporain (original: White Lies. The Emancipated Spectator in Contemporary Nepal). En mentionnant les événements survenus au cours du travail de terrain, la recherche questionne également l'idée du film comme méthode de production de connaissances.La investigación audiovisual pregunta por qué ciertos eventos, experiencias y aspectos de las experiencias cotidianas devienen visibles y son hechos públicos mientras otros temas son ignorados u omitidos en el Nepal contemporáneo. Este tema es investigado desde el punto de vista de fotógrafos nepaleses. Las imágenes proporcionadas muestran cómo las formas fotográficas de representación están relacionadas con ciertas nociones de poder, y recuerdan al argumento de Hall: "Lo que no se es tan importante como que la se dice, así como aquello que está realmente en la imagen " (Hall 2013: 15). La mayor parte del resultado de ésta investigación es un documental observacional; Mentiras Blancas. El espectador emancipado en el Nepal contemporáneo (original: White Lies, The Emancipated Spectator in Contemporary Nepal). Reconociendo los eventos ocurridos durante el trabajo de campo, ésta investigación también cuestiona la idea del cine como método para generar conocimiento

Centering Educator Voices in School Based Mental Health Promotion Research for High Schoolers with Disabilities

49 pagesThe current study is part of a larger federally funded project focused on the implementation of an integrated multi-tiered mental health support model for high school students with disabilities receiving special education services. This thesis will explore the challenges and strengths of a current mental health service delivery model in secondary settings with the goal of identifying specific needs relevant to teacher and school mental health professional perspectives on student mental health. Findings from the needs assessment highlighted specific obstacles related to understaffing, equity and inclusion of students with disabilities, and accessibility of mental health resources for students and their families. Teacher perceptions of facilitators of successful mental health supports for students centered on increased targeted mental health training on supporting students with disabilities and forming multi-disciplinary teams to provide mental health services. Emerging needs provided by the panel of educators included professional development aimed at equipping teachers with universal level strategies and supports and providing school based mental health professionals with specific knowledge about the intersection of disability and mental health, along with hiring more trained therapists. A desired implication of this research is to use the data from the needs assessments to inform targetted and relevant professional development activities for teachers and other school staff working with students with disabilities

Characterization of a Bovine Parvovirus

Bovine parvovirus has been shown to produce calf scours (40). Although exact figures are unavailable, a sizeable economic loss is suffered annually by South Dakotans as a result of this disease. Bovine parvovirus has been isolated in South Dakota (7). However, the extent of exposure to the virus is unknown. The object of this study is to characterize the South Dakota parvovirus isolate and determine by serological methods the extent of exposure in cattle. A preliminary study to determine the ability of parvovirus to cause abortion in cattle will also be undertaken

Modeling conservation incentives for private landowners

This dissertation consists of three papers on the use of incentives for conservation of endangered species on private land. The first paper examines incentives based on providing landowners with assurances regarding future regulation in exchange for their participation in a conservation agreement. The second and third papers are empirical analyses of landowners' decisions to participate in an incentives program, and of the effect of different types of incentives on the level of conservation effort provided by landowners. The first paper examines when a landowner and a regulator reach a voluntary conservation agreement, and what level of conservation the agreement generates in the presence of uncertainty about future conservation benefits and irreversibility of habitat loss and species extinction. The results suggest that the likelihood of an agreement and the resulting conservation levels depend on the background threat of regulation, the cost advantage offered by voluntary agreements, and the availability of assurances regarding future regulation. In practice, conservation agreements that offer assurances may generate higher levels of conservation and higher net social benefits than agreements that do not offer assurances. However, the resulting level of conservation will not be optimal, and may be lower than that attainable under regulation. The second paper conducts an empirical analysis of the demographic and land characteristics that determine landowner participation in incentives programs using data obtained from a survey of non-industrial private forest owners in Oregon and Washington. The results suggest that targeting incentives programs to younger landowners who have acquired their property more recently, own more woodland, and are interested in conservation and providing wildlife habitat on their forests may be effective in attaining higher participation rates. The third paper uses the data obtained from the survey to examine the potential of incentives programs to elicit conservation-oriented management choices from landowners. The results indicate that incentives, in particular compensation and assurances, can be effective in increasing the conservation effort provided by landowners. The results also suggest that conservation policy for private lands could be improved by relying on a combination of incentives, including financial incentives and assurances, rather than exclusively on the threat of regulation

Voluntary Agreements and Private Enforcement of Environmental Regulation

This paper focuses on a type of voluntary pollution abatement agreement (VA) in which the regulator offers regulatory relief for the participating firm in exchange for environmental improvements. If the regulator does not have statutory authority to provide regulatory relief, the VA can leave the firm more vulnerable to legal challenges through citizen lawsuits. I use a model of negotiated VAs to examine the impact of citizen enforcement on the likelihood of an agreement and on the outcome of a VA. The results indicate that both the probabilities of enforcement by the regulatory agency and of private enforcement through a citizen lawsuit affect the likelihood of a VA and the level of abatement when an agreement is reached. A VA can result in higher abatement and net social benefits than regulation if the probability of private enforcement and accompanying costs are high and the probability of agency enforcement is low.Keywords: Bargaining, Regulation, Pollution policy, Citizen suits, Voluntary agreement, Citizen enforcemen

Compliance with vessel speed restrictions to protect North Atlantic right whales

Environmental regulations can only be effective if they are adhered to, but the motivations for regulatory compliance are not always clear. We assessed vessel operator compliance with a December 2008 regulation aimed at reducing collisions with the endangered North Atlantic right whale that requires vessels 65 feet or greater in length to travel at speeds of 10 knots or less at prescribed times and locations along the U.S. eastern seaboard. Extensive outreach efforts were undertaken to notify affected entities both before and after the regulation went into effect. Vessel speeds of 201,862 trips made between November 2008 and August 2013 by 8,009 individual vessels were quantified remotely, constituting a nearly complete census of transits made by the regulated population. Of these, 437 vessels (or their parent companies), some of whom had been observed exceeding the speed limit, were contacted through one of four non-punitive information programs. A fraction (n = 26 vessels/companies) received citations and fines. Despite the efforts to inform mariners, initial compliance was low (<5% of the trips were completely <10 knots) but improved in the latter part of the study. Each notification/enforcement program improved compliance to some degree and some may have influenced compliance across the entire regulated community. Citations/fines appeared to have the greatest influence on improving compliance in notified vessels/companies, followed in order of effectiveness by enforcement-office information letters, monthly summaries of vessel operations, and direct at-sea radio contact. Trips by cargo vessels exhibited the greatest change in behavior followed by tanker and passenger vessels. These results have application to other regulatory systems, especially where remote monitoring is feasible, and any setting where regulatory compliance is sought