Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Th#31;e greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) is a candidate for listing as an endangered species. Proposed proactive policies and conservation measures to protect the species could potentially alter grazing policies on federal lands to include reductions in allowed grazing levels and with adjustments in seasonal grazing use of federal permits - particularly during spring and fall. We use pro#30;t-maximizing models developed for Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, and Wyoming to estimate the economic value of public land forage to ranches that are highly dependent on public lands for seasonal grazing capacity. Optimal (pro#30;t maximizing) adjustments to reductions in allowed grazing uses of Bureau …