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Are wildfire management resources in the United States efficiently allocated to protect resources at risk? A case study from Montana

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  • Derek T. O'Donnell
  • Tyron J. Venn
  • David E. Calkin

Abstract

Federal wildfire management agencies in the United States are under substantial pressure to reduce and economically justify their expenditures. To support economically efficient management of wildfires, managers need better estimates of the resource benefits and avoided damage costs associated with alternative wildfire management strategies. This paper reports findings from a choice modeling study of the wildfire management preferences of residents in Flathead County, Montana, where resources at risk include residential homes (estimated as level of home evacuations), recreational opportunities, air quality, timberland, and forest and watershed health. Residents are willing to pay higher state and county taxes to reduce wildfire impacts on all evaluated resources at risk, and reserved their highest marginal willingness to pay (MWTP) for reducing exposure to unhealthy smoke. Although federal wildfire managers have prioritized protection of private property, including homes, survey respondents expressed their lowest MWTP for reducing home evacuations. When coupled with the negative externality generated by the moral hazard of wildfire suppression near the wildlandóurban interface, a strong economic argument can be made against prioritizing protection of private homes in Flathead County.

Suggested Citation

  • Derek T. O'Donnell & Tyron J. Venn & David E. Calkin, 2014. "Are wildfire management resources in the United States efficiently allocated to protect resources at risk? A case study from Montana," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(3), pages 318-332.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecanpo:v:44:y:2014:i:3:p:318-332
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    Cited by:

    1. Christian Langpap & JunJie Wu, 2021. "Preemptive Incentives and Liability Rules for Wildfire Risk Management," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 103(5), pages 1783-1801, October.
    2. Ambrey, Christopher L. & Fleming, Christopher M. & Manning, Matthew, 2016. "The hedonistic cost of the Black Saturday bushfires," 2016 Conference (60th), February 2-5, 2016, Canberra, Australia 235304, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society.
    3. Abbie A. Rogers & Fiona L. Dempster & Jacob I. Hawkins & Robert J. Johnston & Peter C. Boxall & John Rolfe & Marit E. Kragt & Michael P. Burton & David J. Pannell, 2019. "Valuing non-market economic impacts from natural hazards," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 99(2), pages 1131-1161, November.
    4. Tyron J. Venn & John Quiggin, 2017. "Early evacuation is the best bushfire risk mitigation strategy for south-eastern Australia," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 61(3), pages 481-497, July.
    5. Ambrey, Christopher L. & Fleming, Christopher M. & Manning, Matthew, 2016. "The hedonistic cost of the Black Saturday bushfires," 2016 Conference (60th), February 2-5, 2016, Canberra, Australia 235236, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society.
    6. Campbell, Robert M. & Venn, Tyron J. & Anderson, Nathaniel M., 2016. "Social preferences toward energy generation with woody biomass from public forests in Montana, USA," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 58-67.
    7. Athukorala, Wasantha & Martin, Wade & Wilson, Clevo & Rajapaksa, Darshana, 2019. "Valuing bushfire risk to homeowners: Hedonic property values study in Queensland, Australia," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 44-56.
    8. Nguyen, Trung Thanh & Do, Truong Lam & Parvathi, Priyanka & Wossink, Ada & Grote, Ulrike, 2018. "Farm production efficiency and natural forest extraction: Evidence from Cambodia," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 480-493.

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