Can incentives help overcome landowner concerns about conserving endangered species on their land? A rancher case study applied to fisheries conservation and management

Authors: Colleeen* Svancara, Aaron Lien, Wendy Vanasco, Scott Bonar, George Ruyle, Laura Lopez-Hoffman

Year: 2015 (xlvii)

Abstract

Payments for ecosystem services (PES) programs may encourage private landowners to conserve threatened and endangered species on their land. Harboring threatened or endangered species on private land may put landowners at risk of regulation or losing power to make decisions for their operation because of implications from the Endangered Species Act (ESA). However, private landowners are vitally important to endangered species conservation because of their large capacity to conserve and maintain habitat. Because landowners are apprehensive about the effects of the ESA on how they manage, PES programs that ask them to promote habitat for an endangered species likely have to be uniquely designed to address their concerns about additional regulatory burden. We used three methods to assess the interest of ranchers in southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico in participating in PES programs for threatened and endangered species’ conservation, and to determine what specific considerations need to be included in the design of such a program. We extend conclusions from our study to applications in managing and conserving fish populations on private lands. Participants in our study were generally interested in hypothetical PES programs for threatened and endangered species’ conservation. Results demonstrate that funding source for the program was important, programs must result in a net benefit to landowners, and regulatory assurances must be provided to landowners and their neighbors. These results are useful during preliminary stages of designing a PES program in the region of study, recognizing that further investigation into landowner preferences will be needed. Our approach is also a model for how other regions can evaluate stakeholder preferences before the initiating PES program design, including for threatened or endangered fishes on private land in the Southwestern, USA.