Calculating wetland easement payments using alternative land value data: A case study of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Small Wetland Acquisition Program in the Prairie Pothole Region

Estimates of average values for land surrounding wetland easements were higher when published county-level land value data was used in place of comparable sales-based appraisals - by 11% in North Dakota and South Dakota, and by 22% in Minnesota. The differences were smallest for tracts dominated by cropland rather than pastureland in North Dakota but the reverse was true in South Dakota. Using county land value data as a basis for easement payment offers would have increased overall expenditures for the Fish and Wildlife Service Small Wetland Acquisition Program by 9% in North Dakota, 11% in South Dakota, and 22% in Minnesota. These increases would have been at least partially offset by associated reductions in the cost of conducting site-specific appraisals.