Rancher’s preference and willingness to pay for ecosystem attributes and outcomes of sustainable management practices

Amid changing climatic conditions, woody plant encroachment (WPE), wildland fire, and land-use changes that avoid the use of fire and promote mono-species grazing are the major threats to the sustainable use of rangelands and the rangeland economy. While patch-burn and mixed-species grazing have been identified as the best management practices (BMPs) on rangelands, many landowners are yet to adopt these practices on their properties. Since the acceptance of a management practice may differ between landowners, investigating individual preferences provides important insights for outreach and extension. Our study employed the Best-Worst Choice (BWC) experiment to identify the most and the least important outcomes resulting from these practices and the associated impacts on the choices made by the landowners. In addition, the willingness to pay (WTP) for different outcomes is also estimated. The study results suggest that landowners are likely to adopt BMPs if they result in higher forage utilization, lower fire risks, opportunities for wildlife promotion, and lower operational costs. Study results provide important insights for effective outreach, which can promote sustainable rangeland management in the southern Great Plains.