Property Rights Orientations and Rangeland Management Objectives: Texas, Utah, and Colorado
Abstract
In response to substantial economic and social dislocations in the United States, many rangeland owners are changing land useand management practices. Changes in land use can significantly affect the services rangeland ecosystems provide. Decisionsassociated with such changes are likely mediated by landowner views regarding individual rights, social responsibilities, and thefuture security of property rights. In this paper, we examine the extent to which landowners are likely to adopt, without publiccompensation, socially desirable land management objectives that enhance ecosystem services from rangelands. The studyconsisted of a mail survey of landowners with at least 40 ha: 500 in Texas, 500 in Utah, and 694 in Colorado. Adjusted responserates were 62% in Texas, 46% in Utah, and 51% in Colorado. Regression analyses showed that willingness to adopt sociallydesirable rangeland management objectives was positively correlated with the social responsibility dimension of respondents’property rights orientations but negatively correlated with the rights erosion dimension. Our results also suggested that landowners in private land states, such as Texas, might be less willing than landowners in states with more public land to managetheir land for the maintenance of ecosystem services without being compensated. Although the scope of our study was limited, theresults suggest that agencies tasked with maintaining ecosystem services on private rangelands might more successfully achievetheir mission by promoting social responsibility among landowners. Including community leaders with a highly developed senseof social responsibility in programs aimed at improving land stewardship and including peer-pressure incentives in such programs might enhance social responsibility perspectives among landowners. Such programs should also be adaptable at the state-level to account for differences in property-rights orientations relative to landowner dependence on private and public land.