Progress 05/25/11 to 05/24/16

Outputs
Target Audience: Nothing Reported Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? PI has retired

Publications

Progress 10/01/13 to 09/30/14

Outputs
Target Audience: Nothing Reported Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? During the next reporting period we will complete our assessment of the effficiency and effectiveness of the various sampling intensities being used in the current assessment and plan for expansion of the study to other regions of the state.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Development of a burn risk detection modeling system wascontinuedby a consortium of Texas A&M University System researchers. The burn risk detection system will help predict potential wildfire threats throughout the State. The modeling system will be used by the Texas Forest Service to detect and prioritize potential wildfire threats in the various regions of the state. Plant community information was obtained from field sampling. Land areas were delineated into ecological sites for an inventory to be used in the modeling system. This allowed extrapolation of the field sampling information across like areas (ecological sites) and saved time and costs in the inventory process. Results from simulations ofplant growth via the PHYGROW modeling system for the various ecological sites are currently being used with an arrayfield data sampling intensitiesto assesss the relative efficiency and effectiveness of the various sampling intensities for predicting wildfire risk.

Publications

Progress 01/01/13 to 09/30/13

Outputs
Target Audience: Nothing Reported Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? News release by Texas A&M AgriLife Communications Department "New burn-detection-modeling system in development to help identify potential wildfire threats in Texas" July 31, 2013 What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Work will continue on the development of the burn-detection-modeling system.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? A burn risk detection modeling system is beingdeveloped by a consortium of Texas A&M University System researchers that will help predict potential wildfire threats throughout theState. The modeling system will be used by the Texas Forest Service to detect and prioritize potential wildfire threats in the various regions of the state. The project will use the PHYGROW modeling system, which computes grass, herb and shrub growth, forage consumption by livestock, and hydrologic processes. The model is parameterized for a specific plant community via information obtained from field sampling.Land areas will be delineatedinto ecological sites for an inventory to be used in the modeling system. This will allow extrapolation of thefield sampling information across like areas (ecological sites) and save time and costs in the inventory process.The field work to obtain information has been initiated in three counties in the Rolling Plains land resource region.

Publications

Progress 01/01/12 to 12/31/12

Outputs
OUTPUTS: The Endangered Species Act of 1973 has served as the de-facto biodiversity policy in the United States; however, heavy-handed implementation early in the act's history led private landowners to avoid managing land to benefit endangered species. Voluntary incentive programs (VIPs) potentially bridge the gap between a policy that discourages beneficial land management on private lands and the need to enhance recovery efforts by reducing costs and increasing benefits to landowners. The effectiveness of VIPs is inexorably related to landowner participation. Using a sample of rangeland landowners in central Texas, we examined the potential for private landowners to enroll in an incentive program to protect and maintain habitat for endangered songbirds. First, we characterized landowners based on the centrality of production-oriented agriculture to their lifestyle. This measure of lifestyle centrality was comprised of self identification as a rancher/farmer, dependence on land for income, and rootedness to the land. Second, we examined the relationship between lifestyle centrality, attitude, and participation in a VIP. PARTICIPANTS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
Using structural equation modeling, we found attitude toward enrolling mediated the relationship between centrality and a landowner's intention to enroll in a VIP. In addition to demographic analyses, social variables such as attitudes, beliefs, and motivations are needed to fully understand multiple underlying reasons for participation and non-participation in a VIP and to design effective interventions to enhance participation.

Publications

• Sorice, Michael G., J. Richard Conner, Urs P. Kreuter and R. Neal Wilkins. 2012. Centrality of the Ranching Lifestyle and Attitudes Toward a Voluntary Incentive Program to Protect Endangered Species. Rangeland Ecology and Management, 65:144-152.
• Van Liew, Dustin, J. Richard Conner, Urs P. Kreuter and Richard Teague. 2012. An Economic Comparison of Prescribed Extreme Fire and Alternative Methods for Managing Invasive Brush Species in Texas: a Modeling Approach. Open Agricultural Journal, 6: 17-26.

Progress 01/01/11 to 12/31/11

Outputs
OUTPUTS: In the United States, voluntary incentive programs that aid conservation of plant and wildlife species on private lands provide a structural solution to the problem of protecting endangered species by reducing costs and enhancing benefits to landowners. We explored the potential for incentives to encourage landowners to manage land cover for the benefit of endangered songbirds in central Texas by asking landowners to indicate their preferences for financial incentives, technical assistance, and regulatory assurances. We identified owners of potential songbird habitat and collected data in face-to-face interviews and self-administered questionnaires. We used a latent-class stated-choice model to identify three classes of landowners whose choices varied on the basis of their attitudes and perceived social norms:(1) strong positive attitude, perceived social pressure to participate, and willing to participate with relatively few incentives,(2) weak positive attitude, perceived no social pressure to participate, and required strongest incentives, and (3) negative attitude, perceived social pressure not to enroll, and unwilling to participate regardless of incentive structure. PARTICIPANTS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
Given this heterogeneity in preferences, conservation incentives may increase management of land cover to benefit endangered species on private lands to some degree; however, exclusive reliance on incentives may be insufficient. Promoting conservation on private lands may be enhanced by integrating incentives into an approach that incorporates other strategies for conservation, including social networks and collaborative processes that reinforce social norms.

Publications

• Sorice, Michael, Wolfgang Haider, J Richard Conner and Robert B. Ditton. 2011. Incentive Structure and Private Landowner Participation in an Endangered Species Conservation Program. Conservation Biology, 25 (3): 587-596.

Progress 01/01/10 to 12/31/10

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Biodiversity plays an important role in ecosystem function and the provision of ecosystem services. In the U.S. the Endangered Species Act of 1973 has served as the de-facto biodiversity policy; however, heavy-handed implementation early in the act's history led private landowners to avoid managing land to benefit endangered species. Voluntary incentive programs (VIPs) potentially bridge the gap between a policy that discourages beneficial land management on private lands and the need to enhance recovery efforts by reducing costs and increasing benefits to landowners. The effectiveness of VIPs is inexorably related to landowner participation. Using a sample of landowners from central Texas, we employed attitude theory to examine the potential for landowners to enroll in an incentive program to protect and maintain endangered songbird habitat. Landowners were characterized based on the centrality of production-oriented agriculture to their lifestyle. Using structural equation modeling, attitude toward enrolling mediated the relationship between centrality and a landowner's intention to enroll in a VIP. PARTICIPANTS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
Understanding participation in a VIP is critical to improving endangered species recovery in the United States. We conclude that critical information may be lost if VIP administrators rely solely on demographic analyses as these factors do not relate directly to participation. Instead, social variables such as attitudes, beliefs, and motivations are needed to fully understand underlying reasons for participation and non-participation in a VIP.

Publications

• Sorice, Michael and J. Richard Conner. 2010. Predicting Private Landowner Intentions to Enroll in an Incentive Program to Protect Endangered Species. Human Dimensions of Wildlife, 15: 2, 77-89.

Progress 01/01/09 to 12/31/09

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Compared to other federal agencies, military lands in the U.S. harbor the highest concentration of imperiled species. To prevent loss of mission capability, the Department of Defense is exploring innovative mechanisms to enhance species recovery while reducing the threat of training restrictions from the Endangered Species Act. Using data from structured interviews and surveys, we employed a reasoned action framework to predict landowner intentions to enroll in a conservation program designed to provide habitat for two endangered songbird species in central Texas. PARTICIPANTS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
We found that overall landowner interest in participating was moderate. Landowners with positive attitudes toward enrolling and who shared the program's land management objectives had the greatest intention to enroll. Subjective norm was important in the model although not statistically significant. This model highlights the importance of incorporating landowner management goals into program design and suggests ways in which prediction can be improved under the theory of reasoned action.

Publications

• Zilverberg, Cody, Kreuter, Urs and Conner, Richard. 2009. Population growth and fertilizer use: ecological and economic consequences in Santa Cruz del Quiche, Guatemala. Soc.& Nat. Res. 23:1, 1 - 13.

Progress 01/01/08 to 12/31/08

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Incentive programs increasingly are promoted to improve endangered species recovery efforts on private lands, but there is often very little information upon which to anticipate the acceptance and use of such programs by landowners. We examined factors that influence a private landowner's willingness to enroll in a cost-share program to protect two species of endangered songbird. Using survey data collected from 144 landowners in six counties in central Texas, our analysis suggested that intention to enroll was consistently higher when landowners expected that it would improve their land and lower when landowners expected that they would lose the ability to make their own land-use decisions. Landowners who were less dependent on their land for income were somewhat more likely to enroll. Factors influencing dependence were education, income, rootedness to the community and land-use motivations. Other behavioral intentions and past behavior items enhanced prediction. PARTICIPANTS: J. W. Stuth (deceased) removed from the project. TARGET AUDIENCES: Not relevant to this project. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
Given the structure of the program investigated here, enhancing land while maintaining landowner autonomy is key to improving enrollment. To the extent that incentive programs can couple land management needs of the target species with landowner needs, recovery on private lands can improve dramatically.

Publications

• No publications reported this period

Progress 01/01/07 to 12/31/07

Outputs
A study was conducted to determine the economic feasibility of using prescribed fire exceeding the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resource Conservation Service's (NRCS) current technical standards as a rangeland restoration practice on privately owned land. The study had two main objectives. (1) Evaluate the economic effectiveness of using prescribed summer burns compared to more commonly used restoration strategies; and (2) provide economic research results to facilitate the review of NRCS technical standards, specifications and policies with respect to prescribed fire. The research covered four contiguous counties in each of three Texas eco-regions. Focus group meetings were held with landowners, NRCS and Texas Cooperative Extension (TCE) personnel to obtain preliminary information including most common rangeland uses, most problematic invasive brush species, and the most commonly used practices and associated costs for controlling these invasive plants.

Impacts
The primary invasive species identified in each eco-region include: Rolling Plains - Prickly Pear (Opuntia phaecantha); Edwards Plateau - Redberry and Ashe juniper (Juniperus ashei Buchh. And J. pinchotii Sudw., respectively); South Texas Plains - Huisache (Acacia smallii Isely). Mesquite (Prosopis glandulsa Torr.) was identified as the secondary invasive species in each eco-region. Economic analysis indicated that extreme fire was economically superior in all three regions and was the only treatment alternative that resulted in positive Net Present Values and Benefit-Cost Ratios greater than 1 for the investments in the treatments.

Publications

• Conner,J.R. 2007. Economic Aspects of Texas Quails. In Texas Quails: Ecology and Management. L. Brennan ed. Texas A&M University Press, College Station. pp 313-326.

Progress 01/01/06 to 12/31/06

Outputs
In response to substantial economic and social dislocations in the United States, many rangeland owners are changing land use and management practices. Changes in land use can significantly affect the services rangeland ecosystems provide. Decisions associated with such changes are likely mediated by landowner views regarding individual rights, social responsibilities, and the future security of property rights. In this paper, we examine the extent to which landowners are likely to adopt, without public compensation, socially desirable land management objectives that enhance ecosystem services from rangelands. The study consisted of a mail survey of landowners with at least 40 ha: 500 in Texas, 500 in Utah and 694 in Colorado. Adjusted response rates were 62 percent in Texas, 46 percent in Utah and 51 percent in Colorado. Regression analyses found that willingness to adopt socially desirable rangeland management objectives was positively correlated with the social responsibility dimension of respondents' property rights orientations but negatively correlated with the rights erosion dimension. Our results also suggested that landowners in private land states, like Texas, may be less willing than landowners in states with more public land to manage their land for the maintenance of ecosystem services without being compensated.

Impacts
While the scope of our study was limited, the results suggest that agencies tasked with maintaining ecosystem services on private rangelands might more successfully achieve their mission by promoting social responsibility among landowners. Including community leaders with a highly developed sense of social responsibility in programs aimed at improving land stewardship and including peer-pressure incentives in such programs might accelerate social responsibility perspectives among landowners. Such programs should also be adaptable at the state-level to account for differences in property-rights orientations relative to landowner dependence on private and public land.

Publications

• Kreuter, U.P., Nair, M.V., Jackson-Smith, D., Conner, J.R. and Johnston, J.E. 2006. Property Rights Orientations and Rangeland Management Objectives: Texas, Utah and Colorado. Rangeland Ecology and Management. 59: 632-639.

Progress 01/01/05 to 12/31/05

Outputs
Publicly funded management programs can enhance important ecological services including watershed functions, wildlife habitat, and carbon sequestration. A mail survey was conducted in 2003 in the Western Edwards Aquifer area of Texas to assess landowner perceptions regarding the supply of ecological services from rangelands and their willingness to participate in various land management programs aimed at enhancing such services which are receiving increasing public consideration. In general, landowners favorably viewed programs that would reduce woody plant (brush) cover in an effort to increase water yields or to improve wildlife habitat, but they disapproved of programs that would encourage the proliferation of woody plants in an attempt to increase atmospheric carbon sequestration. In addition, whether land management programs were voluntary or mandatory had a much greater influence on the level of landowner willingness to participate in programs than the availability of publicly funded cost-sharing. Three-fourths of respondents indicated they would be willing to enroll in cost-share brush management programs, and most viewed short-term (5-10 year) performance contract as the most acceptable legal instrument for participating.

Impacts
To deal with ecosystem trade-offs resulting from woody plant management, This work indicates that publicly funded programs aimed at enhancing ecosystem services through effective woody plant management should be flexible. In addition, The study indicates that the promotion of ecosystem level planning for such programs and cooperative management strategies for landowners participating in such program would likely maximize the effectiveness of associated public investments.

Publications

• Olenick K.L., Kreuter U.P., and Conner J. R. 2005. Texas landowner perceptions regarding ecosystem services and cost-share land management programs. Ecol. Econ. 53: 247-260.

Progress 01/01/04 to 12/31/04

Outputs
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 one of eight 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 more than 202 ha of land. Fifty eight percent of the survey participants responded, 82 percent 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.

Impacts
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.

Publications

• Olenick K.L., Conner J.R., Wilkins R.N., Kreuter U.P., and Hamilton, W.T. 2004. Economic implications of brush treatments to improve water yield in two Texas watersheds. J. of Range Mgt. 57: 337-345.
• Kreuter U.P., Tays M.R., and Conner J.R. 2004. Landowner willingness to participate in a Texas brush reduction program. J. of Range Mgt. 57: 230-237.
• Olenick K.L., Wilkins R.N., and Conner J.R. 2004 Increasing off-site water yield and grassland bird habitat through brush treatments. Ecol. Econ. 49: 469-484.

Progress 01/01/03 to 12/31/03

Outputs
The relative effectiveness of brush control treatments varies according to the treatment objective and location within a watershed. There are often multiple objectives when public monies are committed for cost-sharing brush management treatments on private lands. When considering multiple objectives (e.g., water yield and grassland bird habitat), the priority ranking process for determining the most cost-effective treatment locations can be confounded. The goal of this study was to reduce this confounding by creating a methodology for prioritizing areas within two watersheds for brush management cost-share programs. A sub-basin scale prioritization method was developed using total society cost of implementing a brush treatment program, hydrologic impacts, and grassland bird responses to brush treatments.

Impacts
Results show which sub-basins within the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone and Twin Buttes reservoir watersheds may be the most attractive candidates for brush treatment cost-share programs with the goal of optimizing water yield and grassland bird habitat. By adjusting weights for water and grassland bird efficiency criteria, this approach can be adapted to prioritize different levels of ecosystem responses to brush treatments.

Publications

• Conner, J.R., G.W. Williams and R.A. Dietrich. Cattle and the Environment: What's the Beef? Western Economics Forum 2, No. 2(Fall 2003): 3-7.

Progress 01/01/02 to 12/31/02

Outputs
A feasibility study was conducted to examine the implications of brush management under a more restrictive set of brush removal criteria that were chosen based upon wildlife considerations. A team approach was used to achieve the integration of hydrologic modeling, range ecology and wildlife habitat assessment and economic implications. The evaluations were conducted for different levels of brush management varying from no control to reducing all brush cover to 10 percent or less total canopy cover. The major addition of this analysis to brush management feasibility studies being conducted as part of the Texas brush management plan is the consideration of wildlife and aquatic biota and assessing changes in biological diversity likely to result from alternative brush management scenarios.

Impacts
Adding additional rangeland and wildlife habitat restoration practices to the brush control measures does not significantly impair the cost effectiveness of brush control for off-site water yield. The study further illustrated that the impacts of brush control, and other restoration measures, on ecological functions such as terrestrial and aquatic wildlife habitat, in addition to watershed characteristics, could be simultaneously measured and the relative cost effectiveness for each function assessed for different areas.

Publications

• CONNER JR, HAMILTON WT, STUTH JW. 2002. Insights in development and deployment of the GLA and NUTBAL decision support systems for grazinglands. J. Agricultural Systems. 74:99-113.

Progress 01/01/01 to 12/31/01

Outputs
Brush cover of 30% is estimated to be economically optimal for ranches on the Edwards Plateau, Texas. This contrasts with a regional objective to increase off-site water yield, which is maximized if brush cover is removed. Survey research was conducted to assess ranchers' willingness to enter a ten-year easement contract to clear brush to 3%, for a fixed cost-share payment to offset their opportunity costs of participation. Sixty-six percent of the 119 ranchers surveyed were willing to enroll. Ranch size, income from livestock and deer-hunting enterprises, and perceptions about brush control costs were important explanatory variables in statistical analysis using probit and Cragg models.

Impacts
These survey results provide evidence of substantial interest in brush control cost-sharing programs. The study also provided an excellent cross-disciplinary forum which spawned fruitful dialogue between ecologists, economists, and policy decision makers about a contentious contemporary public issue with important ramifications for the future water situation in central Texas.

Publications

• Souza Neto, Jose de, Conner, J.R. and Stuth, J.W.2001. Biophysical and economic models for assessing impacts of change on grazingland ecosystems. Revista Brasileira de Engenharia Agricola e Ambiental. 5:135-137.
• Thurow, A.P., Conner, J.R., Thurow, T.L. and Garriga, M.D.2001. Preliminary anlysis of Texas ranchers' willingness to particpate in a brush control cost-sharing program to improve off-site water yields. Ecol.Econ.37:137-150.

Progress 01/01/00 to 12/31/00

Outputs
A feasibility study of brush control for off-site water yield was undertaken in 1998 on the North Concho River near San Angelo, Texas. Subsequently, studies were conducted on eight additional Texas watersheds. Economic analysis was based on estimated control costs of the different options compared to the estimated rancher benefits of brush control. Control costs included initial and follow-up treatments required to reduce brush canopy to between 8% and 3% and maintain it at the reduced level for 10 years. The state cost share was estimated by subtracting the present value of rancher benefits from the present value of the total cost of the control program. The total cost of additional water was determined by dividing the total state cost share if all eligible acreage were enrolled by the total added water estimated to result from the brush control program. This procedure resulted in present values of total control costs per acre ranging from $33.75 to $159.45. Rancher benefits, based on the present value of the improved net returns to typical cattle, sheep, goat and wildlife enterprises, ranged from $52.12 per acre to $8.95. Present values of the state cost share per acre ranged from $138.85 to $21.70. The cost of added water estimated for the eight watersheds ranged from $16.41 to $204.05 per acre-foot averaged over each watershed.

Impacts
These results are being incorporated into regional water plans in Texas and will be used to evaluate policy options at the regional and state level. The brush control program will benefit the ranching industry through providing sufficient cost share which, when added to the rancher's benefits from increased grazing capacity, make the brush control program economically feasible for the ranchers.

Publications

• No publications reported this period

Progress 01/01/99 to 12/31/99

Outputs
A representative ranch for Crockett county in the Edwards Plateau region of Texas, including weather, soil, plant communities and husbandry practices was parameterized in PHYGROW, a forage growth/livestock performance simulation model, using the data from a focus group of ranchers from the county and published biophysical and economic data. PHYGROW was first used to simulate forage production, stocking rates and livestock performance for the pre-brush control ranch for each year in a 10-year planning horizon. Then forage improvements and accompanying animal performance from brush control that eliminates 50% of the pre-treatment brush canopy cover were simulated. A forage value index (FVI) was used as an indicator of forage quality and animal performance is simulated based on this index. Application of the model to the cattle enterprise on the Crockett representative ranch indicates that forage improvements from 50% brush control can support, on average, 19.7% higher annual stocking rates with a 1.6% increase in calf crop and a 1.9% increase in weaning weight. In addition, daily total forage available increased by 17.8% and daily average FVI during the cow body conditioning and calf weaning periods increased by 3.8 and 4.0% respectively. Similar results were obtained for sheep and goats.

Impacts
(N/A)

Publications

• Adams, R.M., B.A. McCarl, K. Segerson, C. Rosenweig, K.J. Bryant, B.L. Dixon, R. Conner, R.E. Evenson and D. Ojima. ?Economic Effects of Climate Change on U.S. Agriculture?. In: The Impacts of Climate Change on the United States Economy, R. Mendelson and J.E. Neumann eds. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K. 1999. pp18-54

Progress 01/01/98 to 12/31/98

Outputs
Economic analysis of brush control alternatives are based on estimating control costs of the different options and comparing them to the estimated rancher benefits of brush control. Control costs include initial and follow-up treatments required to reduce brush canopy to between 8% and 3% and maintain it at the reduced level for at least 10 years. The state cost share is estimated as the difference between the present value of the total cost per acre of the control program and the present value of the rancher benefits. Finally, the total cost of additional water is determined by dividing the total state cost share if all eligible acreage were enrolled in the program by the total added water estimated to result from the brush control program over the assumed ten-year life of the program and adjusting for the differences in time of water availability and time of cost share expenditures. When applied to an analysis of the estimated water yield from brush control on the North Concho River Basin this procedure resulted in estimates of present values of total control costs per acre ranging from $75.42 to $20.42. Rancher benefits, based on the present value of the improved net returns to typical cattle, sheep and wildlife enterprises expected to result from the brush control program, ranged from $19.40 per acre to $7.53. Present values of the state cost share per acre ranged from $56.02 to $12.07. The cost of added water estimated for the North Concho averaged $49.75 per acre foot over the entire basin.

Impacts
(N/A)

Publications

• Conner, J.R., Hamilton,W.T, Sheehy,D.P., Stuth, J.W. and Kreuter, U.P. Grassland- based livestock production in temperate Zones." World Animal Review No. 90 (July) 1998/1: 6-12.
• de Souza Neto, J., Conner,J.R., Stuth,J.W., Hamilton,W.T. and Richardson,J.W. 1998. Management strategies and climate impact change on rangelands." Pesquisa Agropecuaria Brasileira. No. 9(September), 33:1533-1541.
• Bach,J.P. and Conner,J.R. 1998. Economics of brush control for water yield. In: North Concho River wartershed brush control, planning, assessment & feasibility study. Upper Colorado River Authority, San Angelo, TX, pp.50-55.

Progress 01/01/97 to 12/31/97

Outputs
PHYGROW, a hydrologic-based forage simulation model, was parameterized to represent a typical South Texas ranch engaged in the production of cattle and meat goats with an indigenous population of white-tailed deer. Forage production and associated stocking rates for two cattle: goat ratios were simulated for 20 years. Two, ten-year weather scenarios, one representing normal conditions (30% drought years) and one representing dryer weather conditions (50% drought years) were analyzed. Management decision rules were developed for the region to produce estimates of annual animal production and operating cost for the enterprises in each of the four scenarious. These performance and cost data were then used as input into FLIPSIM, a firm level income and policy simulator, along with relevant product and input price data for the region. Integration of modeled results produced useful information showing the socioeconomic consequences for a typical South Texas firm impacted by alternative climatic conditions and management strategies.

Impacts
(N/A)

Publications

• SOUZA NETO J.de. 1996. Integrating Ecological and Economic Models for Assessing Institutional, Environmental and Technological Change on Rangeland. Ph.D. Dissertation. Department of Rangeland Ecology and Management, Texas A&M University.
• TRAIL T.S. 1997. Nature-based Tourism on Private Ranches in South Texas: A Case Study of Management Trade-offs Associated with Enterprise Diversification on the Kenedy Ranch. M.S. Thesis. Department of Rangeland Ecology and Management, Texas A&M University.

Progress 01/01/96 to 12/30/96

Outputs
Decision support software has evolved in a number of disciplines to facilitate efficient allocation of resources. Such tools are especially useful where the response of complex systems to human activity are difficult to predict. Decision support systems empower managers to rapidly analyze the ecological and economic implications of alternative management strategies. The Grazingland Alternative Analysis Tool (GAAT), has been developed to estimate the economic efficiency of a wide range of grazingland production systems. Systems that can be analyzed, either individually or in combination, include livestock, wildlife, leased grazing, grain and forage crops, wood products and other non-forage crops. The planning horizon, discount rate, available forage, consumption by class of animal, herd management practices, product yields, product and input prices, and improvement investments must be specified by the user. The GAAT program calculates the resulting annual forage balance for all enterprises being analyzed and the net present value and internal rate of return for the specified management interventions during the planning period. Two examples are presented to demonstrate the flexibility of GAAT for analyzing the economic efficiency of graingland production systems. The first example analyzes the use of prescribed burning to control Ashe juniper (Juniper ashei Buckholz) and the second determines the economic effect of changing a dairy from a concentrate-dependent to a grazing-dependent system.

Impacts
(N/A)

Publications

• KREUTER UP, ROWAN RC, CONNER JR, STUTH JW, and HAMILTON WT. 1996. Decision support software for estimating the economic efficiency of grazingland production. J. Range Manage. 49:464-469.

Progress 01/01/95 to 12/30/95

Outputs
Ranchers from the Blacklands/Cross Timbers region operating less than 271 acres were personally interviewed. These operators were questioned about the kinds of resource practices they utilize to support strategic goals. None of the 28 samll-acreage respondents were totally reliant on ranch income sources. 89% of respondents needed the income from domestic livestock to meet financial goals, but only 4% needed income from leased hunting privileges. 8 of 10 repondents said that they did not need to participate in government programs to meet their financial goals. Nearly 90% were involved in the fertilization of introduced grasses. 2/3 of small-acreage operators had used mechanical bruch and weed control on their rangeland acreage and nearly 3/4 had used chemical bruch and weed control techniques. 19% had used prescribed fire as a management tool. 40% of respondents said that they were willing to match the individual talents of ranch workers with specific ranch tasks, less than half were involving children/grandchildren in ranch chores, 4 of 10 were planning to raise their own awareness about the ranching profession, and only 12% wanted to learn computer skills. 80% said that they would rather manage for livestock than wildlife. More than 3/4 of repondents were setting livestock production standards, 81% were setting livestock stocking rates, 12% were setting wildlife harvest rates, and 85% were monitoring livestock herd health.

Impacts
(N/A)

Publications

Progress 01/01/94 to 12/30/94

Outputs
Decisions made by Texas ranchers over a 10 year period (1980-1990) concerning stocking rate levels were dominated by perceptions about weather. A regression model explained 64% of the variability in stocking rate change over time, with the rainfall/drought variable explaining the majority of variability. As ranchers' perception of a positive rainfall effect increased, so did stocking rates, and vice versa. Although the presence or absence of rainfall cannot be managed per se, proactive stocking decisions should include a strategy for adjusting stocking levels in response to changing environmental conditions. Other factors with significant ((alpha) = 0.05), albeit trivial, path coefficients on stocking rate change were age, grazing rights (owned vs. leased), traditional stocking rate factors, traditional grazing program factors, and weed/brush information factors. Older ranchers (> 65 years) and ranchers who leased all of their rangeland tended to decrease stocking rates over time. Rangeland operators indicated they considered "improved livestock performance" as the most important benefit from initiating a grazing program. Evidence also suggested that ranchers who rely on their neighbors for advice about weed/brush decisions are not benefitting from the latest technology information. Adoption of economic factors (cost/benefits) for selection of weed/brush technology did not have a significant impact on stocking rates over the 10 year period.

Impacts
(N/A)

Publications

Progress 01/01/93 to 12/30/93

Outputs
Wild hogs continue to be a major management problem in 19 states. In Texas, bothferal hogs and/or the Russian Boar exist in free-ranging populations numbering in the millions. At present, these populations continue to expand, and now are present in almost all land resource areas. Wild hogs have significant economic presence in the ranching and farming business. Hogs represent both a valuable asset and a significant liability to agricultural producers and other land owners/managers. Changes in management must proceed under the economic theory of improvement in economic efficiency by the use of management alternatives. A new management approach is proposed which incorporates a sound process of management planning that considers all inputs. This process will facilitate changing management efforts from being anti-symptomatic to anti-problematic. Under this more holistic approach, a more equitable management of the wild hog in Texas is possible.

Impacts
(N/A)

Publications

• BACH, J.P., and CONNER, J.R. 1993. Economics and human interactions of the wild hog in Texas. In: Proc. Conf. on Feral Swine: A Compendium for Resource Managers. Texas Agri. Extn. Serv., pp. 88-100, March, Kerrville, Texas.
• STUTH, J.W., HAMILTON, W.T., CONNER, J.R., and SHEEHY, D.P. 1993. Decision support systems in the transfer of grassland technology. In: Proc. XVII International Grassland Congress. pp. 1-9, February, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
• CONNER, J.R., HAMILTON, W.T., and WHITSON, R.E. 1993. Managing stocking rates to achieve financial goals. In: Proc. Symp. on Managing Livestock Stocking Rates on Rangeland. Texas Agri. Extn. Serv., pp. 73-96, October, Victoria, Amarillo,.