Environment and Ecology Research Vol. 5(6), pp. 443 - 452
DOI: 10.13189/eer.2017.050605
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Factors Influencing the Success of a Market Based Conservation Initiative to Promote Rural Land-use Compatibility

John M. Diaz ^1,*, Robert E. Bardon ², Dennis Hazel ², Jackie Bruce ³, K.S.U Jayaratne ³, Anne-Lise Velez ^4
1 Department of Agricultural Education and Communication, University of Florida, United States
² Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University, United States
³ College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, North Carolina State University, United States
⁴ Department of Agricultural and Human Sciences, North Carolina State University, United States

ABSTRACT

Encroachment of incompatible land uses increasingly threatens military training across the country. In many states, military training grounds are part of the rural landscape resulting in significant interest from military leadership in the maintenance and enhancement of land uses that are compatible with training operations. In the southeast, a vast majority of the rural landscape is under private ownership increasing the needs for policies that address the interests of landowners and provide meaningful incentives for maintaining land-use compatibility. Market-based conservation strategies have the potential to provide an effective means for conserving large landscapes used for military training. This issue is particularly salient in North Carolina that has an extensive military training footprint. We conducted a case study to evaluate a cross-sector partnership in the state that collaboratively developed a Market-Based Conservation Initiative Pilot to promote land use compatibility by engaging private landowners in performance-based contracts. This study determined the factors that influenced pilot project outcomes and lessons learned when developing market-based strategies that integrate military interests. Data analysis identifies five key factors that are 1) military funding authority to establish agreements, 2) development of landowner trust and program credibility, 3) military understanding the purpose and associated risks of a pilot program, 4) military perception of rural landownership patterns, and 5) institutional mandates of the Navy.

KEYWORDS
Rural Landscapes, Private Landowners, Land-Use Compatibility, Conservation, Working Lands, Military Training

Cite This Paper in IEEE or APA Citation Styles
(a). IEEE Format:
[1] John M. Diaz , Robert E. Bardon , Dennis Hazel , Jackie Bruce , K.S.U Jayaratne , Anne-Lise Velez , "Factors Influencing the Success of a Market Based Conservation Initiative to Promote Rural Land-use Compatibility," Environment and Ecology Research, Vol. 5, No. 6, pp. 443 - 452, 2017. DOI: 10.13189/eer.2017.050605.

(b). APA Format:
John M. Diaz , Robert E. Bardon , Dennis Hazel , Jackie Bruce , K.S.U Jayaratne , Anne-Lise Velez (2017). Factors Influencing the Success of a Market Based Conservation Initiative to Promote Rural Land-use Compatibility. Environment and Ecology Research, 5(6), 443 - 452. DOI: 10.13189/eer.2017.050605.