Policy prospects for brush control to increase off-site water yield

Water yield from rangeland on the Edwards Plateau, Texas is significantly g reater if a site is dominated by grass instead of brush. Brush control prog rams are being considered by policymakers as a way to relieve water shortag es in the region. This research analyzed ranchers' willingness to participa te in a publicly-funded brush control cost-sharing program that would be ra nch-revenue neutral. A survey instrument was mailed to 226 ranchers, 119 we re completed and returned (53%), The cost-sharing program required that bru sh on enrolled land be cleared and maintained at 3% cover for a 10-year per iod. Respondents estimated that current brush cover on their land averaged 41%, which contrasted with their preference that brush cover average 27%, T his expression of preferred brush cover was similar to an independent estim ate by a panel of experts in the region which indicated ranch livestock and deer-hunting lease value would be maximized at 30% brush cover. These esti mates indicate that a program designed to increase water yield by reducing brush cover to 3% would likely require a financial incentive to offset the cost of brush control that exceeded the preference of the owner. Sixty-six percent of respondents indicated a willingness to enroll some portion of th eir land in the cost-sharing program described in the survey instrument. Ra nch size, the percentage of ranch income earned from deer-hunting leases an d livestock, and whether or not ranchers indicated that expense limited pas t brush control efforts were the variables measured by the survey instrumen t which best explained the probability of participation and the amount of l and the owner was willing to enroll.