Conservation decisions rely on balancing incentives with unpredictable variables

If you own land, as long as it's not bound up in a legal restriction, you've got options. You might decide to convert it into farm land. You might develop it. You could decide to wait and see if the land increases in value. Or you could accept a temporary contract that sets it aside for conservation, or a more permanent one that binds you to never develop it. University of Illinois environmental economists examined some of the aspects of this conundrum.