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Landowner willingness to participate in a Texas brush reduction program
Author
Kreuter, Urs P.
Tays, Mark R.
Conner, J. Richard
Publisher
Society for Range Management
Publication Year
2004-05-01
Body

Because most of Texas consists of privately owned land and the amount of brush cover on rangelands may affect off-site water yields, there has been increasing interest in publicly funded brush clearing programs aimed at increasing water yield. The Pedernales River was selected as 1 of 8 watersheds to determine the feasibility of implementing such a program. A survey questionnaire was mailed to 720 landowners in Blanco and Gillespie County (containing most of the Pedernales watershed) in June 2000 to identify factors that influence their interest in participating in a brush reduction program. The sample consisted of equal numbers of landowners with 4-20, 21-202, and > 202 ha of land. Fifty eight percent of the survey participants responded, 82% of whom answered questions about their willingness to enroll at least part of their land in a brush reduction program. Property size and income from wildlife were found to be significant positive determinants and level of satisfaction with brush a significant negative determinant of respondents' willingness to enroll. To optimize public investments, it may be preferable to maximize the area enrolled in a brush removal program by targeting larger landowners who appear to be willing to enroll larger portions of their land without requiring compensation that exceeds their net cost of enrollment. Because land in the Edwards Plateau is being subdivided and purchased by people who do not depend on land-based income and who may be more tolerant of brush, public funds required to encourage landowner participation may increase over time. The Journal of Range Management archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact lbry-journals@email.arizona.edu for further information. Migrated from OJS platform August 2020

Language
en
Resource Type
Text
Document Type
Journal Issue/Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
10.2111/1551-5028(2004)057[0230:LWTPIA]2.0.CO;2
Additional Information
Kreuter, U. P., Tays, M. R., & Conner, J. R. (2004). Landowner willingness to participate in a Texas brush reduction program. Journal of Range Management, 57(3), 230-237.
ISSN
0022-409X
OAI Identifier
oai:repository.arizona.edu:10150/643529
Journal Volume
57
Journal Number
3
Journal Pages
230-237
Collection
Rangeland Ecology & Management (REM)
Journal Name
Journal of Range Management
Keywords
brush management
canopy cover
cost sharing
landowner perceptions
mail survey
rangeland water yields