Wildland Economics: Theory and Practice
Since passage of the Wilderness Act, economists have derived the total economic valuation framework for estimating wildland benefits. Over the same time period, policies adopted by public land management agencies have been slow to internalize wilderness economics into management decisions. The lack of spatial resolution and modeler bias associated with the FORPLAN model, combined with asymmetrical budget shortfalls, procedural errors and the overestimation of stumpage prices have contributed to a commodity bias in public lands allocation decisions. This bias has spurred some economists to advocate privatization of public land management. Market forces cannot, however, be relied upon to adequately supply wilderness resources, and non-market alternatives are preferable for addressing the shortcomings identified.
