Pest or Product? Willingness to Pay for Eastern Redcedar Removal in Oklahoma

Encroachment by eastern redcedar, an invasive species, threatens the ecosystem health and agriculture returns in the southern Great Plains. The invasion of eastern redcedar has a detrimental effect on livestock and wheat production in Oklahoma by competing with native grasses, reducing available forage, competing for scarce water resources and negatively affecting human health. The estimated costs of management are in between $3 to $150 per acre depending on the type of habitat, the level of encroachment, and treatment technique (Bidwell and Weir 2007). Recently, the rising costs associated with removal of mature trees has rekindled interest in biofuel use of redcedar or the creation of marketable cedar products. In order to estimate whether such enterprises may be viable, an estimate of the potential supply of redcedar is needed. Therefore it is essential to identify the factors that can influence landowners’ willingness to pay for eastern redcedar removal.