Evidence of increased biotic disturbances in forests due to climate change is accumulating, necessitating the development of new approaches for understanding the impacts of natural disturbances on human well-being. The recent Mountain Pine Beetle (MPB) outbreak in the western United States, which was historically unprecedented in scale, provides an opportunity for testing the adequacy of the life satisfaction approach (LSA) to estimate the impact of large-scale forest mortality on subjective well-being. Prior research in this region used the hedonic method (HM) to estimate the economic impacts of the MPB outbreak, and results are used here to evaluate the reasonableness of economic estimates based upon the LSA. While economic estimates based upon the LSA model do not appear to be unreasonable, several limitations in using the LSA for nonmarket valuations are discussed. New avenues for research that link the LSA with stated preference methods are discussed that appear likely to address major concerns with standard LSA models as used in nonmarket valuation.

The emerald ash borer (EAB) was first detected in North America in 2002, and since its introduction, this invasive pest has killed millions of ash trees. While EAB kills native North American ash trees in all settings, its impacts have been especially large in urban areas where ash has been a dominant street tree, especially in residential areas. While some management costs, such as insecticide treatment, tree removal, or tree replacement, are relatively straightforward to compute, the impact that EAB has had on residential property values is less clear. To better understand the economic cost of EAB in urban settings, we conducted a hedonic property value analysis to evaluate the impact of ash tree damages due to EAB infestation on housing sales prices. This study was conducted in the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which had high stocking levels of ash trees prior to EAB’s arrival. The objectives of the study are to investigate: (1) how EAB-infested ash trees affect property values; (2) whether the benefits from healthy ash trees to property value change after arrival of EAB; and (3) whether healthy ash trees located within infested neighborhoods provide the same benefits as the healthy ash trees located outside of infested neighborhoods. In general, our results show that the EAB outbreak has had a negative impact on home values for properties located in close proximity to the ash tree component of the urban forest. This result holds true for neighborhoods where EAB does not yet pose an imminent threat, and is amplified for neighborhoods where EAB has been detected. Our results highlight the early stages of a dynamic economic process that impacts urban residential property owners subject to the risk of EAB or other tree pests and diseases. In general, we find that forward-looking behavior of residential property owners is capitalized into property values during the process of forest pest infestation.

Federal agencies invest taxpayer dollars every year in conservation programs that are focused on improving a suite of ecosystem services produced on private lands. A better understanding of the public benefits generated by federal conservation programs could help improve governmental efficiency and economic welfare by providing science-based evidence for use in policy decision-making regarding targeting of federal conservation investments. Of specific concern here are conservation investments made by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). While previous research has shown that efficiency gains are possible using cost-benefit analysis for targeting conservation investments, agency-wide implementation of this approach by policy makers has been constrained by the limited availability of location-specific information regarding conservation benefits. Cost-effective opportunities for integrating location-specific ecosystem service valuation research with USDA conservation decision-making include: (1) institutionalizing funding of comparable studies suitable for benefit transfer, (2) utilizing non-traditional data sources for research complementing benefit transfer, and (3) creating a state-of-the-art program for developing and communicating research in ecosystem service valuation exemplifying the highest standards of scientific conduct.

During the 1960s, hardwood stumpage in Connecticut was valued well below the regional average. Beginning in 1973, the hardwood stumpage market in the state began a long period of value growth due to the increasing size and quality of standing timber and the improving market for oak. Between 1960 and 1987, real stumpage prices for lots of mostly oak timber in Connecticut increased at an average annual rate of 4.6%. During the 1980s, real prices for oak increased at an average annual rate of 7.3%, while the value increase for mixed hardwoods was 2 0%. In comparison, the value of softwoods fell at an average annual rate of 2 4% during this recent period. The inflation of hardwood stumpage prices was caused by outward shifts in the demand curve and decreasing supply elasticity. If these trends continue, good financial opportunities will exist for oak management. North. J. Appl. For. 7(1):13-16, March 1990.

It is rare enough to read the work of authors of scientific publications whose efforts not only inform but entertain. Naturally, we are not in the business of entertainment, but I will confess to a lifetime of looking forward to the moments when observations of, when facts about, the world cause me to think (or even subvocalize) to myself, “That is amazing” or “That is great.” It is even more remarkable when such a well-wrought study is directed toward creatures that have compelled one's own career. I am, therefore, doubly grateful that it fell to me to read and remark upon the second edition of The Natural History of Weasels and Stoats: Ecology, Behavior, and Management by Carolyn M. King and Roger A. Powell. I have waited a long time, indeed, to write a review like this.