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Economic implications of brush treatments to improve water yield
Author
Olenick, Keith L.
Conner, J. Richard
Wilkins, R. Neal
Kreuter, Urs P.
Hamilton, Wayne T.
Publisher
Society for Range Management
Publication Year
2004-07-01
Body

One possible method of increasing water yield in some water-poor areas is through brush management. Economic modeling of brush control programs designed to improve water yield has been performed for numerous Texas watersheds. These studies assumed a single criteria brush control program. This single criteria program may have negative impacts on certain wildlife habitats, is likely unacceptable to landowners, and does not incorporate additional restoration practices. Our study analyzed the economic consequences of 3 brush management/restoration scenarios for the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone and Twin Buttes watersheds and the drainage basins contained within. Economic measures included total public cost () and public cost of producing additional water (/1000 m3 of added water). Because of its larger size, estimated total public cost was higher for the Twin Buttes watershed than for the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone watershed, despite the fact that the Twin Buttes had lower cost per ha of treated brush. Public cost of additional water is lower for basins within the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone watershed (ranging from 26 to 44 per 1000 m3 of added water) than in the Twin Buttes watershed (ranging from 51 to 129) which suggests that public investment in brush management efforts are likely to be more economically efficient in the Edwards Aquifer area. Within individual basins, public cost of additional water were similar for all 3 brush management/restoration scenarios. 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[0337:EIOBTT]2.0.CO;2
Additional Information
Olenick, K. L., Conner, J. R., Wilkins, R. N., Kreuter, U. P., & Hamilton, W. T. (2004). Economic implications of brush treatments to improve water yield. Journal of Range Management, 57(4), 337-345.
ISSN
0022-409X
OAI Identifier
oai:repository.arizona.edu:10150/643547
Journal Volume
57
Journal Number
4
Journal Pages
337-345
Collection
Rangeland Ecology & Management (REM)
Journal Name
Journal of Range Management
Keywords
brush management
cost sharing
wildlife habitats
rangeland restoration
Edwards Aquifer
Twin Buttes Reservoir