Relationship between landowner property rights orientations and management practices in Texas, Utah and Colorado. Nair, Malini¹, Kreuter, Urs^*,1, Jackson-Smith, Douglas², ¹ Department of Rangeland Ecology and Management, College Station, TX² Department of Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology, Logan, UT

ABSTRACT- An increasing number of economic and social constraints are influencing the use and management of rangelands, and landowner's property rights orientations. We hypothesize that shifts in property rights orientations influence the investment in ecologically sound rangeland management practices by landowners. Data to test this hypothesis were obtained using a mail survey of landowners in two counties in each of three states; Texas Utah and Colorado. Using these data we developed a land management index to indicate landowner implementation of ecologically sound land management practices. We then conducted an ordinary least squares regression analysis using the management index as the dependent variable and several socio-demographic factors and previously derived property rights orientations indices as independent variables. The four property rights indices reflect individual property rights, social responsibilities, stewardship, and threats to property rights. We found that property rights orientations with respect to the social responsibilities, stewardship, and threat indices were strongly correlated with land management practices. Specifically, landowners with high social responsibility and stewardship index scores showed a greater level of participation in ecologically sound practices, while landowners with threat index scores practiced fewer ecologically sound practices. Other variables found to be significantly correlated with the management index included property size, total household income, and residency on the property. These findings indicate that to be effective, publicly funded programs aimed at creating positive incentives for landowners to implement ecologically sound management practices, should be sensitive to perceptions that landowners have regarding the integrity of their property rights.

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