A hedonic analysis of chronic wasting disease's effect on hunting lease prices

Healthy herds of game animals are critical in sustaining lease hunting, which is a significant source of income for many forest landowners in the U.S. However, the emergence of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in cervid populations of the southeastern region of the county has added uncertainty regarding the viability of lease hunting and the welfare of deer hunters. As it was not known whether and how CWD impacts the value of hunting leases, we employed a hedonic model of hunting lease prices and the characteristics of lease properties along with the presence of CWD to evaluate the externality of CWD on lease prices. While the presence of CWD on nearby properties had no significant effect, the presence of CWD in deer harvested on the property was associated with a $1.84/acre reduction (i.e., 22 %) in annual lease price. Findings provide new insights into the economic effects of CWD in terms of lost landowner income as well as hunter welfare. Aggregation of this implicit price with the estimated number of hunters and acreage affected due to CWD showed that the regional impact could be substantial, with lost economic output estimated to range from $153,000 in the CWD region only under the current prevalence rate to as high as $10.62 million across two states under a presumed full coverage rate scenario. Even though this study presented a case of CWD in deer hunting, findings will be useful in understanding the effects of game health on hunting lease demand, revenue collection, and the corresponding impact on regional economies, as well as for guiding investments in improving the health of the game population.