Effect of Ranchland Attributes on Recreational Hunting in Florida: A Hedonic Price Analysis

Recreational hunting has been an attractive enterprise for some ranchers who are interested in supplementing their income from cattle. Ranchland attributes—such as parcel size, tree cover, and proximity to urban centers—are expected to influence hunters' preferences and, thus, hunting lease payments. We estimated the effects of these attributes on hunting revenues using a hedonic model. The results reveal that trees and vegetation cover on ranchlands have a positive impact on hunting revenues, indicating opportunities for silvopasture practices. Those ranchers in Florida who maintain about 22% trees and other vegetation cover receive $16.15 per acre per year from hunting leases, but doubling the cover would generate only an additional $3.20 per acre per year.

Willingness to Pay for Hunting Leases in Alabama

This study used a censored probit approach to estimate willingness to pay (WTP) for hunting leases in Alabama. Data were generated through a dichotomous choice contingent valuation (DCCV) survey conducted in spring 2002. After correcting for sample selection bias, we found that hunting experience, hunter's household income, number of dependents, and lack of game quality had significant impact on WTP, with lack of game quality having the largest marginal effect. The estimated WTP was $1.29/ac per hunter or $23/ac per hunting club, more than double the actual average payment of $0.52/ac per hunter or $9.36/ac per hunting club. These results suggested that landowners in Alabama could increase access fees for hunting leases. South. J. Appl. For. 28(1):21–27.

Monetary Benefits in a Southern Silvopastoral System

In many regions of the United States, agroforestry has become an important land use alternative. In the South, silvopasture, which combines spatial and temporal growth of timber and livestock, is the most common form of agroforestry. An economic analysis was undertaken to demonstrate the monetary and wildlife benefits that can be accrued from a silvopastoral system in the southern United States. Wildlife-related activities as well as annual and periodic cash flows from timber and livestock sales were included in the analysis. Land expectation value (LEV), equivalent annual income (EAI), and rate of return (ROR) were compared for a silvopastoral system and four traditional southern monocultural systems. The profitability of silvopastoral systems is comparable to other land use systems. Silvopasture further provides opportunities for incorporating wildlife-related activities through hunting leases and possesses both quality and quantity of wildlife habitat not available in other systems. On average, the inclusion of hunting leases increases LEVs from 3.1 to 30.6% per acre over a range of lease and interest rates. Finally, results of this and other studies suggest that silvopasture is an environmentally and economically feasible alternative to traditional land uses. South.J. Appl. For. 26(3):159–164.

A Hedonic Analysis of Private Hunting Land Attributes Using an Alternative Functional Form

A hedonic framework is used to analyze selected attributes of Louisiana deer hunting leases that are hypothesized to be significant contributors to lease value. The flexible Box-Cox functional form is used in contrast to the often utilized linear regression specification. Additionally, the hypothesis of regional differences in slope coefficients of lease attributes is addressed. Results indicate that hunters in the two analyzed regions value lease attributes and services differently.