A Reverse Auction for Wetland Restoration in Southern Alberta

Abstract

Since European settlement of the Canadian Prairies there has been substantial loss of wetlands. This loss occurs in large part due to drainage by private agricultural operators seeking to boost the productivity of their land. Policy makers now seek not only to conserve wetlands and prevent drainage but also to restore drained wetlands where possible. The purpose of this thesis is to assess whether or not a reverse auction could be a useful policy mechanism for securing drained wetland basins where restoration can take place. Ducks Unlimited Canada conducted a single round, uniform price auction in the Wintering Hills area of Wheatland County, Alberta. The results of this auction are compared to a similar auction conducted in Saskatchewan in 2009. In general we find that while reverse auctions are time consuming and potentially expensive, they do have the potential to secure drained basins for restoration and could therefor be used as a policy instrument for wetland restoration in the future.