RSS 1.0Environmental & Natural Resource Policy
ABOUT THE COLLECTION
Connecting agriculture, economics and the environment: University of Arizona Cooperative Extension faculty from the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics focus on real-world challenges involving the sustainable and efficient use of natural resources. Using economic principles, they explore how agriculture and environmental protection can work together, and how policies and programs shape decisions made by farmers, ranchers, resource managers and policy makers. This collection includes both historical and current publications.
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Visit College of Agriculture, Life & Environmental Sciences Publications at https://extension.arizona.edu/educational-materials.
Recent Submissions
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University of Arizona Cooperative Extension Climate Change Needs AssessmentThis report presents the findings from a 2023 needs assessment survey of University of Arizona (UArizona) Cooperative Extension personnel regarding their interest and involvement in climate change-related programming. It provides information regarding existing collaborations, program reach, and training needs for capacity-building. The survey was conducted to inform Extension leadership about existing interest and involvement in climate change-related research and programming, as well as to help Extension faculty leverage resources and opportunities to better serve Extension and the people of Arizona.
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The Economic Value of Trails in Arizona: A Travel Cost Method Study – Technical ReportOutdoor recreation supports the quality of life and health of individuals, communities, and local economies. Trail access for non-motorized and motorized recreation enriches the lives of community residents and visitors, providing an outlet for exercise, outdoor recreation, and transportation. The inherent value and enjoyment derived from outdoor recreation is not directly monetized, for example, through consumer spending or property values, yet it is the driver behind the outdoor recreation economy. The economic value that individuals place on amenities like trails can be measured in terms of consumer surplus. Consumer surplus is a monetary measure of how well-off individuals are as a result of consuming or using a particular good, service, or resource.In other words, it estimates the value of a good based on the benefits that individuals derive from using the good, service, or resource. For goods that are not bought and sold in markets, such as natural amenities, the value of a particular resource can be estimated indirectly using what is known as the travel cost method. In this method, benefits of an amenity are estimated based on how much individuals spend in time and money to travel to enjoy a particular amenity.
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Developing Sustainability Metrics for Water Use in Arizona Small Grain Production: Final Report to the Arizona Grain Research and Promotion CouncilThis study estimated a number of sustainability measures for water use in Arizona small grain production including: water application intensity, water productivity, water economic productivity, and water footprint. The study also evaluated how grain production, particularly as part of grain-vegetable crop rotations, enhances the regional sustainability of local agricultural production in the arid Southwest. Finally, the study evaluated estimates of Arizona durum wheat’s water footprint (water consumed per bushel produced) reported in popular water footprint calculators. It identified several methodological and data errors in these calculators that lead to an over-estimate of the water footprint of Arizona’s durum wheat production.
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Trends and Patterns of Water Use in US Cotton ProductionThis study compared water use and productivity in cotton production in western U.S. states and the United States in general across 30 years, based on data from USDA’s Farm and Ranch Irrigation Survey, a follow-on survey to the Census of Agriculture. From 1984 to 2013 (the most recent survey year) water applications to cotton in California, Arizona, and New Mexico fell by more than 3.9 million acre-feet (MAF). This 71-percent reduction in water use is equivalent to 68% of total residential water use in the region. Western states also saw reductions in water applied per acre of cotton and water applied per cotton bale produced. From 1984 to 2013 the total amount of water applied in total U.S. cotton production fell 48%, while total irrigated cotton production remained relatively constant. Nationally, the amount of water applied to produce a bale of irrigated cotton fell 56% between the two Census years, while water applied per acre fell by 38%. Absolute water applications outside the western states increased by 0.4 MAF, but nationally absolute water applied to U.S. cotton fell by 3.5 MAF (48%).
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Economic Effects of Declining Water Levels at Lake Mead and Lake PowellThis study estimates the effects of changes in lake levels on recreation visits to Lake Powell and Lake Mead and the resulting economic effects of reduced visitor spending in nearby communities, including regional economic impacts. The study also estimates the changes in consumer surplus, or recreationist benefits.
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Potential Regional Economic Impacts of Water Cutbacks to Irrigated AgricultureThis study presents results from two previous case studies (Bickel et al., 2019, 2020) that estimate the potential regional economic impacts of agricultural water supply cuts to two crop producing regions in Arizona: (1) Pinal County and (2) Graham and Greenlee counties. These two regions represent areas of the state with relatively high probabilities of surface water shortages which could trigger cutbacks to agriculture. Assuming that producers would respond to cutbacks by fallowing land, or taking it out of production, the studies estimated reductions in acreage, farm gate sales, farmer income, as well as the resulting economic multiplier effects from farmers purchasing fewer inputs from local businesses and employing fewer farm workers.
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ECONOMIC CONTRIBUTION & IMPACTS OF ARIZONA’S STATE PARKS (FY2020)This study presents an analysis of the importance of Arizona State Parks to the state’s economy and to the 13 county economies where state parks are located. The study measures two types of economic effects: county economic impacts and state economic contributions. Both measures are rooted in visitor spending. State parks attract visitors, often from outside the local area, that spend money on such things as lodging, meals, and incidental expenditures. This spending is important to local economies, supporting businesses and jobs, and creating additional rounds of spending in the local economy, known as economic multiplier effects. Spending by non-local visitors, attracted to state parks from outside the local area, represents net new money circulating in the local economy, and therefore is considered as an economic impact. This study presents county-level economic impact estimates for all counties in Arizona with state parks. We also consider all (local and non-local) visitor spending in and around state parks in estimating the economic contribution of state parks to Arizona’s economy. An economic contribution analysis presents a snapshot of existing economic activity surrounding a particular industry or attraction; however, it does not differentiate where spending is coming from. In other words, spending by local residents is simply money being recirculated within the local economy and does not generate net new economic activity within the region’s economy. Finally, we present a brief analysis of the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on visits to Arizona State Parks to provide context on the level of visits observed during fiscal year 2020.
