An Economic Evaluation of the Range Improvements Administered by the Bureau of Land Management in the Vale District of Oregon PDF Download

Author: Erik Bruce Godfrey
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Range management
Languages : en
Pages : 294

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Book Description
The federal government has spent considerable sums of money to rehabilitate range lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). These investments have had varying effects on the production and utilization of forage on these lands. One of the most surprising results, according to BLM officials, of the investments undertaken during the Vale Project has been the increased productivity of native lands in the Vale District of the BLM. This study was initiated to examine these effects and to evaluate the investments that have been undertaken during the project. The theoretical relationships that exist between the production, utilization, and administration of resources were developed to explain how various range improvements may affect forage production. This body of theory was also used to develop two hypotheses. The first hypothesis stated that increased forage production on native lands in the Vale District have resulted from increased forage production on improved areas. The second hypothesis stated that increased forage on improved areas have resulted from increased production of native areas in the Vale District. Parameters of a system of simultaneous equations were estimated by least squares using cost and forage response data obtained from BLM officials at the Vale District. Statistical tests, based on the preceding parameter estimates, indicated that forage production on native lands has been significantly affected by forage production on improved areas (first hypothesis). These tests also indicated that increased forage production on native areas has increased the production of forage on improved areas. Parameter estimates were also used to evaluate the returns necessary to earn a five percent return on the investments undertaken during the Vale Project. This evaluation indicated that an Animal Unit Month (AUM) of federal forage must be worth more than $6.00 for spray and seed areas, $5.00 for spray areas, $2.50 for native areas, $2.00 for plow and seed areas, and $1.00 for Old Rehab areas. Three major conclusions were derived from the results of this study. First, utilization rates have significant bearing on the returns that may be expected from an investment for range improvement. Second, investments that increase the production of forage in one area can affect the production of forage in other areas if utilization practices (management of the forage resource) such as those used by the BLM are followed. Third, many of the rehabilitation projects that have been undertaken by the BLM during the Vale Project have yielded less than a five percent return on the investments.