Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

Business meeting minutes: The meeting commenced at 2:00 pm on Thursday, 15 September, 2011 in the University of Idaho, Department of Agricultural Economics & Rural Sociology. J.D. Wulfhorst started the meeting by offering the minutes from the 2009 Las Cruces meeting for approval by the committee. Tom Harris made a motion to accept the minutes. The motion was seconded by Neil Rimbey. The minutes were passed unanimously. Discussion of a potential future project followed. This would be a follow-up on a Department of Interior report that emphasized tourisms role in public lands and minimized livestock grazing. Potential funding sources for this project were discussed. State reports for Idaho, New Mexico and Wyoming were presented to the committee. Discussion of these projects and the progress (or lack thereof) for the committee continued for some time. Following Dr. Daley-Laursens presentation, the committee continued with a discussion of activities on a state-by state basis. This went on until 5:30pm, when the committee adjourned for the evening. The committee reconvened at 8:00am the following morning. Discussion centered on the future of the project. The committee reviewed the projects outcomes for the past six years. A number of committee members voiced concern although there have been a number of projects germane to the committees hypotheses over the years, there has not been the collaboration and grantsmanship that was hoped for. Other members said that the hypotheses were somewhat narrow, focusing mainly on the fragmentation of rangeland and that though this is still an issue, other issues, such as climate change are now more on the forefront of peoples minds. A lively exchange followed as committee members lamented the narrow-ness of the research topics du jour; and how within the six-year window since that last re-authorization, areas of focus have changed again. Discussion gradually shifted back to the issue at hand with advice from Don Snyder on the differences between W-committees and WERAs. Committee members voiced opinions that we should let the authorization of W-1192 lapse and re-constitute ourselves as a WERA with new, broader hypotheses more akin to the old W-192. The committee decided that this was a better direction for collaboration. The committee spent the next hour brain-storming new hypotheses that would be broader and more inclusive of the new members of the committee. The result was a set of draft hypotheses that will be the basis for a proposed new WERA focused on issues that impact rangelands in the Western U.S. John Tanaka, J.D. Wulfhorst and Tom Foulke volunteered to be the leadership committee to get the new proposal together. It was decided that we should move ahead to get our proposal in before the January deadline. As such, Tom volunteered to gather the state reports and minutes together into a report. It was also decided that we should meet again to finalize the package. John mentioned that the Range Sustainability Roundtable meeting at the end of November in Las Vegas would be a good place to connect with others that might be interested in participating. There is already a block of rooms at reasonable rates that could be expanded. The committee decided to use its 2012 meeting allotment in this way to finalize the proposal. Presentation: The committee interrupted deliberations for a presentation by Steven Daley-Laursen, University of Idaho, Office of Research and Economic Development. Dr. Daley-Laursen addressed the committee on the Northwest Climate Science Center Initiative in stimulate collaboration from the committee. He underscored the need for bringing in social scientists perspective into a project that is largely bio-physically based. The meeting adjourned at 11:15am. Field Trip: J.D. Wulfhorst organized a group field trip for Friday afternoon with Courtney Smith of Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Washington and in conjunction with the Asotin County Conservation District to tour a watershed rehabilitation project near Clarkston, Washington. Some committee members had to catch flights out and were unable to attend. The tour highlighted work to restore Asotin Creek. There have been a number of projects over the years to enhance the creek for steelhead and riparian habitat for anadromous fish, water quality, and overall watershed health. These included exclusion fencing and off-stream water development. The group also saw where a mile of stream was re-built with meanders. The group returned to Clarkston about 4:00pm.

Outputs: (see list of references later in the report) Activities: California State Report, September 2011 Lynn Huntsinger, UC Berkeley As California has not reported since 2005, this covers 2005-2011. W1192 Objectives with accomplishments: The overarching goal of the project is to determine whether rangeland fragmentation is causing ecological, economic, and social impacts and the extent of the related individual and cumulative impacts. Work accomplished that met specific objectives includes: Goal 1. Determine the level, trends, and effects of land fragmentation at the state level: Two surveys were conducted at the state level that allowed assessment of fragmentation of rangelands and trends in demographic characteristics and ownership among rangeland landowners. Forty two percent of forest and rangelands in California are privately owned. In the first survey, forest and rangeland owners in ten representative counties throughout the state were surveyed. Long-time landowners value their properties for their natural amenities and as a financial investment. Owners of properties of 500 or more acres were significantly more likely to use their land for income production than owners of smaller properties, and they were also more likely to carry out or be interested in environmental improvements. Many forest and rangeland landowners reported they had been previously approached to sell their land for development. Only about one-third had participated in conservation programs; few had conservation easements. Although a number of organizations provide advice highly-ranked by landowners, no individual organization currently reaches more than 30% of forest and rangeland owners, and these groups together reach less than 60% of landowners. The lowest ranked advice came from regulatory agencies, indicating that land management advice from regulatory authorities is least appreciated by landowners. Owners of large properties (> 200 hectares) were substantially more likely to have received land management information than smaller-sized properties, and from a broader group of organizations. As ownerships become increasingly fragmented, outreach focus and methods will need to shift to more effectively target the owners of smaller properties. On the other hand, some major outreach goals, such as conservation of wildlife, grazing, or agricultural communities, will continue to rely on effective outreach to owners of larger properties. The second, a longitudinal study of California hardwood rangelands showed significant change in landowner characteristics and goals. Results of three studies spanning 1985 to 2004 showed that education and research aimed at encouraging landowners to change woodland management has been reflected in a significant reduction in oak cutting and an increase in oak planting. Recent changes have come with the times: landowners were as likely to have consulted land trusts about oaks as Cooperative Extension, and the number engaged in production of crops or livestock continued to decline. On the other hand, the proportion of landowners, including ranchers, reporting that they live in the oak woodland to benefit from ecosystem services such as natural beauty, recreation, and lifestyle benefits significantly increased. Though owners of large properties an1d ranchers were more strongly against regulation and government interference than other respondents, this did not appear to affect oak values and management. Property size remained significantly related to landowner goals, values, and practices, with those producing livestock owning most of the larger properties. There has been a decline in the number of properties being studied due to conversion of some from oak woodland to other uses, though the remaining respondents still own at least 10% of the woodlands. Landowners with conservation easements or those who are willing to consider them, who believe oak recruitment is inadequate, or who use advisory services were significantly less likely to cut oaks and more likely to plant them. Policy, management, and outreach that support synergies between production and conservation activities, and that combine ecosystem service-based income streams that encourage keeping land intact and increased land-use stability, are needed to support conservation of private rangelands. Goal 2: Using opal phytoliths and historic records, shifts in vegetation as related to land fragmentation in the San Francisco Bay area were assessed. Goal 3. Determine the relationship of level of land fragmentation with social factors: Interviews, surveys and a literature synthesis were used to examine the impacts of rangeland fragmentation on rangeland conservation potential, rancher decisionmaking, and private-public land relationships. Emerging institutional arrangements for sustaining private rangelands and counter-acting rangeland fragmentation must cope with the inter-linkages between private and public values, and private and public lands. Using data from the BLM land survey office, archival records including interviews and historic letters, an analysis of the impacts of land fragmentation on the culture and lifeways of the Yurok Reservation in northern California was undertaken and completed. W-1192 Idaho State Report Neil Rimbey & J.D. Wulfhorst, University of Idaho GAMS-Related Projects: The end of the Sage-STEP project resulted in partial support for a graduate student (Ashley McClain) who will hopefully complete her MS in Spring 2012. She is working on juniper invasion issues in the sagebrush steppe and using 2 of the Owyhee models to look at the ranch-level economic impacts of Stage 1-3 invasion of juniper and control cost impacts. I have been working with Doug Johnson (Oregon State) and Pat Clark (USDA-ARS) on a project dealing with wolf-cattle interactions. My component deals with the ranch-level economic impacts of wolves. Budgets for 2 scenarios (wolves vs. low or no wolves) have been put together via producer panels and direct interviews. I hope to have some time in the next year to build the GAMS models for the 2 scenarios. Grazing Costs: Allen Torell and I were approached by SRM and the Public Lands Council to update the 1992 Grazing Cost information. There is quite a bit of interest in this right now, given the politics of grazing and interest in fees. The report was completed this last spring and is available at: http://www.cals.uidaho.edu/aers/PDF/AEES/2011/GrazingCost2011.pdf Cull Beef and Dairy Cattle: I worked with Jason Ahola (formerly at UI and now at CSU), Deb VanOverbeke (Okla State), Holly Foster (Calif. Beef Council) and numerous others on a project dealing with incidence and market impact of quality defects in cull beef and dairy animals. Animals were observed by trained people as they went through the saleyard. Factors such as body condition score, lameness, surgical evidence, along with market price received and weights were tabulated for animals. We came up with 2 publications out of project dealing with the incidence of the different quality factors and the relative effects on selling price. There was also a popular press article done on Dairy Beef Quality Assurance and that publication is available from the California Beef Council. State Lands Grazing Leases: Allen Torell and I worked with a consulting firm out of Washington state and submitted a bid on evaluating Idaho Department of Lands Grazing program. Our part of the project involves a survey of grazing lessees and lessors to gather private lease information and to determine the factors that influence them. Survey will be conducted this Fall/Winter, with report prepared by Spring, 2012. We are working with Stephanie Kane and Barbara Foltz, University of Idaho Social Science Research Unit, to help in the design of the instrument and conducting the phone survey, and analysis. Integrated Sagebrush Research Team: During 2011, a team of 4 Ph.D. students were recruited into an IGERT (renewal) project funded by NSF and based at the University of Idaho. The students will focus on ecohydrology, plant physiology, wildlife ecology, and social science aspects of core research questions in the sagebrush ecosystem. The students are required to co-author integrated chapters in their dissertations and will likely complete their degrees between 2014  2016. Their project will contribute directly to the themes aligned to W1192. Asotin Creek Watershed Project: As part of an ongoing subcontrat to Washington State University, the University of Idaho has also contributed to a USDA  CEAP Rangelands project focused on Evaluating the Impacts of Conservation Practices on Watershed Health in a Salmon-Bearing Rangeland Watershed; Asotin Creek, Washington. Several outputs of the project this year include: 1) ongoing analyses of survey and interview data from Years I and II; outlines and literature reviews for manuscripts and currently under construction; planned manuscripts will highlight issues of governance related to conservation; 2) implementation of intercept/observational surveys in the watershed which is an additional component to the project (see additional detail below); and 3) educational / outreach efforts in the watershed; during September 2011, we hosted a local tour of the watershed for a USDA Regional Project Working Group (W1192) with attendees from 7 different land-grant universities in the western US; the group focuses on rangeland economics with an emphasis on regional analyses and landscape fragmentation effects. 4) Intercept surveys: We designed an additional component to the data collection as intercept / observational surveys in 2010 in order to elaborate the data collection based on experience at the local level in Years I and II of the project. We have been conducting intercept surveys since the end of June 2011. Survey design dates were chosen systematically through the summer (e.g., first Monday, second Tuesday, plus 2 weekends a month). Post-Labor Day, data collection has been reduced to weekend trips only based on visitor use patterns. Early in the year (mid-summer), snow prevented access to several sites. Methodologically, efforts include counting cars for license-plate categorization by state, and conducting intercept surveys at major campsites and trailheads. As of September 15, we have conducted 87 surveys and surveys will continue through October, 2011. Preliminary results show a majority of visitors are from Washington State. W-1192 Nevada State Report Tom Harris, University of Nevada, Reno OBJECTIVES: Objective 3: Determine the relationship of level of land fragmentation with economic factors. The following are the numerical approaches: (1) A social accounting model will be developed for northeastern Nevada to incorporate public lands. (2) Incorporation of Cooperative Extension budgets into a county social accounting model. (3) Application of linear programming and social accounting model. (4) Impacts to changes in public lands policies derived through an integrated linear programming-social accounting model. (5) Develop an integrated ranch level linear programming model and Computable General Equilibrium Model. PROGRESS: Incorporated and extended procedures by Torell et al. (2002a) and Torell et al. (2002b), and Foulke et al (2006) to derive an integrated linear programming/Social Accounting Matrix model. Also, an analysis was initiated to develop a stochastic fire module. Procedures to develop an integrated ranch level linear programming and Social Accounting Matrix model follow procedures outlined by Everett and McCarl (1978), Brink and McCarl (1974), and Bowker and Richardson (1981). Also procedures are underway to develop an integrated ranch level linear programming, a stochastic rangeland fire model, and social accounting model have been developed. A doctoral graduate student graduated with a dissertation on this topic. W-1192 New Mexico State Report, September 2011 L. Allen Torell and Rhonda Skaggs 1. Do the levels of land fragmentation differ among and within states by land ownership? 2. Rangeland buyers can be categorized as to the reason they purchase rangeland. Evaluate new rangeland sales and purposes/reasons for purchase  categorize the buyers. 3. Are emerging institutional arrangements for conserving working landscapes reasonable forms of public investment and how are they affected by fragmented landownership and diverse public and private values? a. Enumerate and assess the public and private values of private rangelands. Ranch values - A thesis exploring and updating the hedonic ranch value model for New Mexico was completed in August 2011. Data included 659 sales for all areas of New Mexico. Model results were similar and included similar explanatory variables to earlier hedonic models published for New Mexico and the Great Basin. The R2 of the hedonic model was 94%. The updated RANVAL model has been released at http://ranval.nmsu.edu and can be used by appraisers, brokers, ranch buyers and sellers and others to estimate the 1996- 2010 trend in value for a particular New Mexico ranch. National Research Conservation Service (NRCS), Conservation Effects Assessment Program (CAEP): The Grazing Lands component of the CEAP National Assessment (CEAP-Grazing Lands) will quantify the environmental effects of conservation practices used on pastureland and rangeland. A comprehensive literature review and synthesis was initiated in 2006 and contributions were made to the social and economic chapter as well as the brush control practices chapter. The book and economic chapter are in print. Contributors to the social and economic chapter included Dr. John Tanaka, Dr. Mark Brunson, and Torell. Over 40 scientists provided input to the CEAP synthesis with book chapters including: Prescribed grazing Prescribed burning Brush management Range planting and seeding Riparian herbaceous cover Upland wildlife habitat management Herbaceous weed control Landscape analysis (Crosscutting chapter) Socioeconomics and ecosystem services (Crosscutting chapter) Cattle-Fax Beef Price Series: Cattle-Fax" has cooperated to make weekly beef prices available for western markets. The database of those prices was updated from Cattle-Fax and the data were rewritten to be shared in Excel instead of Access. Beef price data was updated for Dr. Octavio Ramirez to continue developing a beef price simulation model that can be used to generate stochastic price series for the W1192 regional linear programming models. Socio-Economic Factors Influencing Public Land Grazing Use: Data for individual BLM grazing allotments in SW New Mexico were collected during the last three years, and a database focusing on ownership instability and turnover is now being analyzed spatially and temporally by Rhonda Skaggs and collaborators from the Jornada Experimental Range. BY OBJECTIVE: 1. Objective 2. Rangeland buyers can be categorized as to the reason they purchase rangeland. Evaluate new rangeland sales and purposes/reasons for purchase  categorize the buyers. Data for 659 recent New Mexico sales were entered into a database and hedonic ranch value models were developed. The hedonic models quantify factors affecting the market value of western ranches. The data includes limited information about buyer characteristics. Dr. Rhonda Skaggs with graduate student Samuel Parry have almost completed data collection for a survey of public land ranchers in SW New Mexico. The survey focuses on impermanence factors affecting ranch management decision making in the region. The results of the survey and analysis will be the topic of Mr. Parrys M.S. thesis (expected completion in June 2012). Wyoming State Report, 15-16 September, 2011, Moscow, ID Thomas Foulke and David Taylor A. Current projects in support of W-1192 1. Economic analysis for the revised forest plan for the Shoshone National Forest. (objective 4): Ongoing work on an economic analysis for the Shoshone National Forest. This information will be used in the development of a revised management plan for the Forest. This project is being funded by the Governors State Planning Office. Note: This work is largely complete, but forest plan has yet to be approved. We have since been tasked with updating our work. This is in progress. 2. Economic analysis for the revised forest plan for the Bridger-Teton National Forest. (objective 4): Similarly, work is ongoing for an economic analysis for the Bridger-Teton National Forest. This information will be used in the development of a revised management plan for the Forest. This project is proving to be more challenging due to gas development in a more environmentally sensitive area. This project is also being funded by the Governors State Planning Office. Note: This work is largely complete, but forest plan has yet to be approved and we could be called upon for further analysis 3. Bureau of Land Management economic analyses (objective 4): Economic analyses for the BLM are in process for Resource Management Plans (RMPs) for the following Resource Management Areas: a. Lander RMA, b. Buffalo RMA, c. Big Horn RMA - This information will be used by the BLM in their decisions in creating a new Resource Management Plan each of these areas. This is a collaborative effort between the University of Wyoming, the BLM, and a private consulting firm contracted with by the BLM. 4. An Economic Analysis of Amendments to Resource Management Plans in Support of the Wyoming Sage Grouse Policy (objective 3): This project considers the economic impact of amendments associated with the Wyoming Sage Grouse Policy on six Resource Management Plans in Wyoming. The analysis considers the effects of the Sage Grouse policy on oil and gas development and production and on wind development. This information will be used by the BLM in their planning for incorporating the Sage Grouse Policy into their management plans. 5. The Economic Impact of Pathfinder Wind Development (objective 3): This project estimates the economic impact of a 3,000 megawatt wind development, proposed for eastern Wyoming. This would potentially be one of the largest wind projects in the country and could have significant impact to rural population in the region. Work is currently in the permitting phase. Pathfinders developers are keen to be good stewards and have proposed an innovative conservation bank with environmental off-sets to help move forward their project. Our work has been to estimate the economic impact in terms of jobs and income to the region. 6. The Economic Impact of Wolf Predation on Ranch Profitability (objective 1): This masters thesis (expected completion, spring 2012) investigates predation impacts at the ranch level. This project builds on previous work by focusing more on the estimation of indirect costs (Masters candidate, Jordan Steele). 7. The Economic Impact of Quaking Aspen Wind Development (objective 3): This project estimates the economic impact of a 150 megawatt wind development near Rock Springs, Wyoming. The project is in the initial phase of permitting and our work has yet to begin. 8. Food Security from Rangelands (objective 4): This project seeks to determine the quantity of red meat produced on rangelands in the western U.S. and to estimate what future impacts will be from fragmentation, climate change, wildfires, and other ecological stressors. 9. Sustainable Rangelands Roundtable (objective 4): Developing conceptual research papers on climate change, food security, non-tradiational energy development, and other impacts and uses of rangelands that address economic, social, and ecological impacts. Utah State Report Man-Keun Kim and D.L. Snyder A ranch-level economic model is linked to a social accounting matrix (SAM), a.k.a. LP-SAM, to investigate the impact of wildfire on the regional economy. This study is the expansion of Alevy and Harris (2008) with a stochastic wildfire model based on historical wildfire data. The LP-SAM model is used to estimate the impact of wildfire in southeast Oregon. Additional work was also done on a state-level ranch model in which trade-offs between agricultural production and carbon sequestration were examined. Model refinements are continuing. Impacts: See Next Section

Ferranto, S., L. Huntsinger, C. Getz, G. Nakamura, B. Stewart, S. Drill, Y. Valachovic, M. Delasaux, and M. Kelly. A profile of California forest and rangeland landowners. in press. California Agriculture. Huntsinger, L., Johnson, M., Stafford, M. and J. Fried. 2010. California Hardwood Rangeland Landowners 1985 to 2004: Ecosystem services, production, and permanence. Rangeland Ecology and Management 63:325-334. Hopkinson, Peter and L. Huntsinger. 2005. Are East Bay hills grasslands a historical artifact? Phytolith evidence and a potential candidate for the true East Bay vegetation type. Grasslands, Winter 2005. Brunson, M. and L. Huntsinger. 2007. Rancher demographics, socioeconomic pressures, and the challenge of meeting conservation goals. Quivera Coalition Journal 31:24-30. Sulak, A, Huntsinger, L. Barry S. and L.C. Forero. 2008. Public and private land relationships in the East Bay. Proceedings, Sixth Annual California Oak Symposium, Santa Rosa, Ca. Oct. 9-12. Sulak, A. and Huntsinger, L. 2007. Public lands grazing in California: untapped conservation potential for private lands? Rangelands 23(3):9-13. Brunson, M. and L. Huntsinger. 2007. Rancher demographics, socioeconomic pressures, and the challenge of meeting conservation goals. Quivera Coalition Journal 31:24-30. Huntsinger, L. and L. Diekmann. 2011 (2010). The virtual reservation: Land distribution, natural resource access, and equity on the Yurok Forest. Natural Resources Journal 50(2):341-370. Campos, P.; Caparrós, A.; Cerdá, E., Huntsinger, L. and. Standiford, R. 2007. Modeling multifunctional agroforestry systems with environmental values: dehesa in Spain and woodland ranches in California. In: A. Weintraub, T. Bjorndal, R. Epstein and C. Romero (Editors), Management of Natural Resources: A Handbook of Operations Research Models, Algorithms, and Implementations. Kluwer´s International Series in Operations Research and Management Science 99: 33-52, Frederick S. Hillier, Series Editor. Kluwer Academic Publishers. Kluwer Academic Publishers. Lynn Huntsinger. 2009. Into the wild: vegetation, alien Plants, and familiar fire at the exurban frontier. Chapter 8. The Planners Guide to Natural Resource Conservation: The Science of Land Development Beyond the Metropolitan Fringe. Esparza A. and McPherson, G. (eds). Springer. Huntsinger L. and Starrs, P. 2006. Grazing in arid North America: A biogeographical approach. Sècheresse: 17 (1-2): 219-234. Huntsinger, L. Sulak, A, Standiford, R. and Campos-Palacin, P. 2006. Conservation matching funds from working woodlands in California. In: Silvopastoralism and sustainable Management, CAB International. Huntsinger, L., Forero, L. and Sulak A. 2010. Transhumance and pastoralist resilience in the western United States, Pastoralism: Research, Policy, and Practice 1:1-15. http://www.cals.uidaho.edu/aers/PDF/AEES/2011/GrazingCost2011.pdf Ahola, J.K., H.A. Foster, D.L. VanOverbeke, K.S. Jensen, R.L. Wilson, J.B. 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Economics of Flexible Versus Conservative Stocking Strategies to Manage Climate Variability Risk. Rangeland Ecology & Management 63:415-425. Torell, L. A., J. A. Tanaka, and A. G. Fernald. 2010. Will quantifying ecosystem goods and services justify brush control projects?. In: B. Drake and M. L. Golla [EDS.]. Fourth National Conference on Grazing Lands symposium, December 13-16, 2009. Sparks, NV: Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative (GLCI). p. 72-79. Torell, L. A., and N. R. Rimbey. 2010. Economically efficient supplemental feeding and the impact of nutritional decisions on net ranch returns. In: B. W. Hess, T. DelCurto, J. P. G. Bowman and R. C. Waterman [EDS.]. 4th Grazing Livestock Nutrition Conference. Estes Park, CO: West. Sect. Am. Soc. Anim. Sci. p. 170-177. Torell, L. A. 2011. RANVAL 2011: A model for estimating New Mexico ranchland values. Available at: http://ranval.nmsu.edu. Accessed August 1, 2011. Skaggs, R., Z. Edwards, B.T. Bestelemeyer, J.B. Wright, J. Williamson, and P. Smith. 2011. Vegetation Maps at the Passage of the Taylor Grazing Act (1934): A Baseline to Evaluate Rangeland Change After a Regime Shift. Rangelands February 33(1): 13-19. York, A.M., M. Shrestha, C.G. Boone, S. Zhang, J.A. Harrington, T.J. Prebyl, A Swann, M. Agar, M.F. Antolin, B. Nolen, J.B. Wright, and R. Skaggs. 2011. Land fragmentation under rapid urbanization: a cross-site analysis of Southwestern cities. Urban Ecosystems DOI 10.1007/s11252-011-0157-8. Skaggs, R., Z. Samani, A.S. Bawazir, and M. Bleiweiss. 2011. The Convergence of Water rights, Structural Change, Technology, and Hydrology: A Case Study of New Mexicos Lower Rio Grande. Natural Resources Journal 51, Spring: 95-117. Skaggs, R. 2008. Ecosystem Services and Western U.S. Rangelands. Choices 23: 37-41. Rashford, Benjamin S., Thomas Foulke and David Taylor. Ranch-level Impacts of Predation in a Range Livestock System. Rangelands. June, 2010. P21-26. Kim, M-K., Zhu, E., Harris, T.R., and Alevy J.E. (2011) Measuring Regional Economic Impact from Wildfire: Case Study of Southeast Oregon Cattle-Ranching Business, Submitted paper for possible publication in Rangeland Ecology & Management