Dissertation Research: Social and Environmental Consequences of Land Tenure among Marin County Ranchers

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Public sentiment toward private use of federal lands has become increasingly contentious in the United States, particularly in the West where agriculturists rely heavily on both private and federal lands to maintain viable operations. This research focuses on understanding how ranchers' use of private and federal lands affects the strategies they choose in the face of external economic, political, and cultural threats. In so doing, it asks how land tenure affects environmental use patterns, the social structure of ranching communities, and economic decisions made by agriculturists. Research will be conducted on Point Reyes National Seashore (PRNS) and in a nearby portion of private land in Marin County, California. The student will examine the ways in which land tenure and landscape valuation variously promote and discourage ranch longevity and environmental integrity. Free listing, structured surveys, in-depth interviews, and daily work diaries will be used to elicit information on the land use practices, economic circumstances, and perceptions and values regarding the land for two matched sets of ranchers in Northern California: 1) ranchers using primarily the federal lands of PRNS, with 2) a matched set of ranchers across Tomales Bay, who primarily use private lands east of Tomales Bay. Network analysis will be used to contrast social interactions within each community. Historical analysis of ranch boundaries, former neighbor interviews, and personal and county economic data and tax records will be used to examine economic strategies. The research will test the hypothesis that land tenure shapes productive strategies; in so doing, it contributes to property theory by exploring the effects of private and federal tenure on resource management. The research also shows the relevance of a developing body of theory on cooperation to a complex, market-integrated agricultural society.