TY - JOUR T1 - Multiple-Knapsack Optimization in Land Conservation: Results from the First Cost-effective Conservation Program in the United States JF - Land Economics JO - Land Econ SP - 117 LP - 130 DO - 10.3368/le.92.1.117 VL - 92 IS - 1 AU - Kent D. Messer AU - Maik Kecinski AU - Xing Tang AU - Robert H. Hirsch IV Y1 - 2016/02/01 UR - http://le.uwpress.org/content/92/1/117.abstract N2 - Conservation groups often piece together their parcel selections by combining funds from multiple sources. When applying multiple-knapsack optimization, substantial increases in conservation benefits, acreage, and number of parcels preserved can be achieved. Specifically, we show that multiple-knapsack optimization substantially outperforms benefit targeting, cost-effectiveness analysis, and sequential binary integer programming. This study uses data from the first known cost-effective land conservation program in the United States—in Baltimore County, Maryland—and shows that multiple-knapsack optimization can deliver additional benefits. (JEL D61, Q24) ER -