Increases in Costs and Returns Due to Intensifying Range Forage Production Surveys: An Information Economic Analysis

Abstract

The U.S. Congress and courts have directed federal natural resource agencies to use better information for management decisions than they have used in the past. It is also important for these agencies to improve the efficiency of resource use where possible. This information economics study estimates increased costs and revenues which can be directly imputed to improving the accuracy of range forage production surveys. It suggests that a high level of survey accuracy may often be justifiable. Legislation specifies that federal forest and range lands shall be managed to provide goods and services at levels which are sustainable in perpetuity. To assure these flows the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the Soil Conservation Service (SCS), and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) are required to survey or periodically assess the biological and economic potential of the nation's public and private natural resources.' This legislation reflects the