INFECTIOUS DISEASES THAT ARE ENDEMIC IN WILDLIFE POPULATIONS REPRESENT A THREAT TO LIVESTOCK AGRICULTURE'S PROFITABILITY AND SUSTAINABILITY. OUR LONG-TERM OBJECTIVE IS TO UNDERSTAND HOW SOCIETY CAN INVEST IN THE PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF INFECTIOUS PATHOGENS IN VALUED DOMESTIC AND WILD POPULATIONS, SO AS TO MAXIMIZE LONG-RUN ECONOMIC VALUES ASSOCIATED WITH LIVESTOCK AGRICULTURE AND WILDLIFE. OUR FOCUS IS ON THE SOUTHERN PORTION OF THE GREATER YELLOWSTONE AREA (GYA) PROXIMATE TO ELK FEEDGROUNDS. THE GYA FOCUS IS BECAUSE ELK AND BISON REPRESENT THE LAST RESERVOIR OF BRUCELLOSIS IN THE COUNTRY, AND ELK ARE A DUAL DISEASE THREAT AS CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE (CWD) HAS ENCROACHED ON THE GYA. THE FEEDGROUND-AREA FOCUS IS DUE TO THE MAJOR ROLE OF FEEDGROUNDS IN DISEASE TRANSMISSION AND AS A SOURCE OF STAKEHOLDER CONTENTION. UNDERSTANDING HOW TO BEST MANAGE THE PORTFOLIO OF DISEASE RISKS TO WILDLIFE AND CATTLE REQUIRES SUFFICIENT KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE ECONOMICS OF WILDLIFE AND LIVESTOCK DISEASE SYSTEM INTERACTIONS. OUR SPECIFIC RESEARCH ACTIVITIES ARE TO EVALUATE THE MANAGEMENT OF GYA ELK FEEDGROUNDS FOR DISEASE CONTROL RELATIVE TO OTHER MITIGATION AND ADAPTATION EFFORTS, INVESTIGATE THE IMPORTANCE OF SPATIAL CONSIDERATIONS IN MANAGING A MULTI-SPECIES DISEASE PROBLEM, EXAMINE THE MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS OF A PORTFOLIO OF DISEASE RISKS (BRUCELLOSIS AND CWD), AND DETERMINE HOW GYA STAKEHOLDERS MIGHT BE AFFECTED BY EFFICIENT DISEASE MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES. THE PURPOSE OF THIS RESEARCH IS TO IMPROVE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF HOW THIS COUPLED SYSTEM FUNCTIONS, INVESTIGATE THE ECONOMIC-EPIDEMIOLOGICAL TRADEOFFS ASSOCIATED WITH VARIOUS MANAGEMENT OPTIONS, AND DEVELOP DISEASE MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES AND PUBLIC POLICIES THAT ARE ECONOMICALLY DESIRABLE AND ECOLOGICALLY SUSTAINABLE. THIS PROPOSAL IS BEING SUBMITTED TO NIFA PROGRAM AREA F: AGRICULTURE ECONOMICS AND RURAL COMMUNITIES, PROGRAM AREA PRIORITY #5: ENVIRONMENTAL AND NATURAL RESOURCE ECONOMICS.