Economics of woody plant encroachment management in Oklahoma

The encroachment of eastern redcedar (ERC) (Juniperus virginiana L.) poses significant ecological and economic challenges to Oklahoma’s rangelands, including reductions in forage production, disruptions to water cycles, decreased biodiversity, heightened wildfire risks, and economic losses. Despite the availability of management techniques such as prescribed burns, mechanical removal, and emerging strategies like switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) cultivation, adoption remains low due to technical complexities and high costs. Land managers and stakeholders have expressed a growing interest in financial support and innovative management approaches to managing ERC encroachment. Chapter II investigates the short-term costs and benefits of prescribed burns and switchgrass cultivation as management strategies for controlling ERC encroachment on Oklahoma rangeland. The Net Present Value (NPV) of four options were calculated. Market opportunities and variations growing conditions for switchgrass are considered. The NPV results show that switchgrass cultivated for hay production and biomass feedstock had a high and positive NPV compared to switchgrass cultivated for grazing purposes. Prescribed burn showed a low, but positive NPV. Chapter III estimated public willingness to pay (WTP) for a hypothetical ERC removal program using data from the Oklahoma Meso-Scale Integrated Socio-Geographic Network (M-SISNet) survey in winter 2023. The ordered probit model was adjusted for self-selection bias in the methodology. Results show that the average WTP for ERC removal using prescribed burns is $261, while WTP for mechanical removal averages $272. Urban and suburban residents display higher WTP compared to rural populations using mechanical removal. Individuals concerned about water availability show significant positive WTP, while extremely conservative political ideology shows a significant decrease in WTP.