The Supply of Private Acreage for Public Recreational Use in Southern and Central Appalachia

Abstract

Public lands in Southern and Central Appalachia (SCA) available for outdoor recreational pursuits are limited relative to the rest of the country. This study identifies factors that encourage private landowners to permit public access to their land for recreational purposes and determines how much acreage would be offered in the SCA region. The Tobit and Heckman's sample selection models suggest that the probability of offering land to the public is correlated with the number of acres offered. Having acreage suited for recreation is a positive determinant of acres leased, but attributes developed by the landowner act as a disincentive. Type of recreational activity has no effect on the landowner's decision, and the supply of recreational acreage is inelastic with respect to price.

Supply of Private Acreage for Recreational Deer Hunting in Georgia

“…The WMAs are public lands set aside by state agencies primarily for conservation of wildlife habitat and provision of outdoor recreation opportunities to the public. However, these resources are limited in both scope and size and are often in high demand by hunters leading to overuse and issues of conflict (Liu, Pagoulatos, Hu, & Fleming, 2010). Further, existing public lands are under increasing pressure to meet public demand for other types of outdoor recreation including bird 142 N. C. Poudyal et al watching, hiking, and backcountry camping thereby further limiting their potential to serve as primary hunting grounds.…”

“…For example, Liu et al (2010) found that the likelihood of private landowners in the Southern Appalachians offering public access to their land for recreation was positively related to the total supply of acres available. Zhang, Hussain, and Armstrong (2006) and Hussain et al (2007) surveyed non-industrial private forest land owners in Alabama and Mississippi, respectively, to investigate the factors influencing landowners' participation in lease hunting and their expected lease rates.…”

“…Although such programs have been shown to improve both the quality and quantity of game habitat on private lands (Ribaudo & Hellerstein, 2008), the extent to which such programs have led to an increase in recreational hunting has not been well documented. In particular, it is not clear whether communities receiving such public funding for habitat conservation have actually opened their land to the public for recreation (Liu et al, 2010).…”

A Probabilistic Shortage of Private Land Opened to Hunters in Northwest Minnesota

“…Land owners have many reasons for which they do not want their land opened to outside use 3 . Land for sale is often indicated as "hunting land," and those who purchase it, despite the significant role they play in wildlife management, may not want outside parties to hunt on their land, despite the benefit that could have to wildlife and natural resource management [1] 4 .…”

“…Private owners can potentially increase efficiency through opening land, either pro bono or for a fee, to outside hunters [3]. However, decision strategies of land owners may be biased against opening land to outside use.…”