The Bioeconomics of the Spatial Distribution of an Endangered Species - The Case of the Swedish Wolf Population

Conservation of endangered species often entails significant costs, and from a social perspective many species can be characterized as both environmental " bads " and environmental " goods ". This paper concerns the management of one such species, the Swedish wolf (Canis lupus). The fact that the wolf is a species with a high dispersal capacity causes specific problems for the resource manager. The goal for the resource manager is then to choose a harvesting vector for the wolf population, such that the discounted stream of net benefits from the populations in different geographical regions is maximized. The spatial dimension is involved by realizing that the wolf population in each sub-region is dependent on emigration and immigration (apart from births and deaths). The solution to the resource manager's problem is shown to be a modification of the classical rule of renewable resource exploitation, caused by migration between sub-regions. Empirically, this problem is solved by dividing Sweden into 13 different geographical sub-regions, and accounting for existence values, harvesting benefits, and predation costs of the wolf population in each sub-region. Results show that the geographical distribution, in absolute numbers, is very sensitive to prey abundance and different assumptions regarding the economic parameters of the model. However, the relative distribution of wolves across the country is less sensitive to these assumptions. The highest densities of wolves were found in counties with low marginal costs (Västernorrland and Gävleborg), due to a very high abundance of moose equivalents per hunter. The lowest population densities were found in the southernmost county (Skåne), as a consequence of low carrying capacity, and in the three northernmost counties (Jämtland, Västerbotten, Norrbotten) due to the high cost of depredation on reindeer, in addition to foregone hunting values.