What are the benefits of delisting endangered species and who receives them?: Lessons from the gray wolf recovery in Greater Yellowstone

Abstract This paper uses a spatial predator-prey model to provide insights into the complex and politically charged management of species recently removed from the federal endangered species list. The model is motivated by the recently delisted gray wolf with spatiotemporal dynamics between elk, wolves, hunters, cattle ranchers, and the tourism industry in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. State wildlife managers set hunting rates for elk and wolves to maximize the discounted net benefits from tourism, hunting, cattle grazing, and non-use values that accrue to the area while ensuring a minimum viable wolf population meant to prevent extinction. We show that the cost of wolf conservation paid by residents and visitors to the area falls substantially after delisting. These costs savings arise by taking advantage of differences in habitats and economies across the region resulting in an unequal spatial distribution of wolves and of wolf hunting opportunities. The cost savings from delisting are reduced when a more even distribution of wolves and hunting opportunity is achieved, highlighting a bioeconomic equity-efficiency tradeoff. Finally, we show that current livestock compensation programs cannot decrease the discrepancy between state and federal management following delisting but propose a federally-funded alternative that can.