Cost / Effectiveness Analysis of Ponderosa Pine Ecosystem Restoration in Flagstaff Arizona's Wildland-Urban Interface

Ponderosa pine ecosystem restoration in Fort Valley (located east of Flagstaff, Arizona) has been proposed as a method of restoring ecosystem health and lowering the risk of catastrophic wildfire in Flagstaff's wildland-urban interface. Three methods of harvest are being used to carry out restoration treatments: hand harvesting, cut-to-length harvesting, and whole-tree mechanized harvesting. This paper presents a theoretical application of a cost / effectiveness analysis to aid in recommendation of an optimum method of harvest for restoration treatments. Harvest methods can be compared on the basis of ratios of harvest cost / effectiveness. Effectiveness in this approach is defined as a harvest method's ability to carry out restoration treatment with the least negative impact on residual stand damage, soil impacts, and fuel loading. Introduction ____________________ Cost / effectiveness analysis is an economic tool that can help decisionmakers with limited financial resources select among alternatives to meet a predetermined objective. In the Fort Valley restoration project, the objective is an eco- logical restoration / fuel reduction treatment intended to reduce the number of small-diameter ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) trees in Flagstaff, Arizona's wildland / urban interface. These small diameter trees inhibit growth of larger diameter trees and can act as fuel ladders in cata- strophic stand replacing fires. Three treatment alternatives have been used to reduce current tree densities: hand- harvesting, cut-to-length harvesting, and whole-tree-mecha- nized harvesting. Each of these harvesting alternatives uses different mixes of equipment to obtain the given objective of restoration. Each mix of equipment has different costs for treating the stand and different environmental impacts on the stand after treatment. This paper reviews economic tools to aid in environmentally related decisions, and argues that cost / effectiveness analysis is superior to benefit cost ratio and impact analysis as an environmental decisionmaking approach for harvest method selection in the restoration projects. The paper introduces the Fort Valley restoration treatments as a case study, and covers the theoretical application of cost / effectiveness analysis for harvest method selection in the Fort Valley restoration treatments.