Forestland social values and open space preservation

Abstract

Concerns have about the loss of forestland to development, leading to both public and grown private efforts to preserve forestland as open space. These lands comprise social values-ecological, scenic, recreation, and resource protection values-not typically reflected in market prices for land. When these values are present, it is up to public and private agencies to provide them in sufficient quantity. We discuss nonmarket social values in the context of forestland market values, to explain the economic rationale for public and private efforts to protect forestland as open space.