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Capitalized Costs of Habitat Conservation Easements
Author(s) -
Lawley Chad,
Towe Charles
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
american journal of agricultural economics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.949
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1467-8276
pISSN - 0002-9092
DOI - 10.1093/ajae/aau012
Subject(s) - easement , acre , habitat , habitat conservation , agricultural land , agriculture , land use , matching (statistics) , business , natural resource economics , agroforestry , geography , environmental science , ecology , economics , biology , mathematics , statistics , archaeology , political science , law
Perpetual conservation easements permanently remove the option to convert existing habitat to more intensive agricultural production. If existing habitat is at threat of conversion, removing the option to convert will reduce land values. In this article, we estimate the land value discount resulting from perpetual habitat conservation easements by using propensity score matching. We find that on the average eased parcel, land values fall by approximately $86 per acre for every acre of eased habitat. On average, our results suggest that landowners have been adequately compensated and conservation agencies have successfully secured habitat at risk of conversion.