Environmental Economics for Watershed Restoration

Whether addressing pollution problems or helping protect a specific use, watershed associations are finding that the competition for funds is getting harder. While we can grasp the value of our streams for fishing or kayaking and other services, or their cultural value, or their value to an ecosystem, putting a dollar value on those benefits is not an easy task, but it is sometimes a necessary one. A handbook for advocates and stakeholders, Environmental Economics for Watershed Restoration provides guidance to those who are interested in understanding and incorporating economic valuation in project prioritization and other decision-making aspects of stream or watershed restoration. It provides background on the types of ecological goods and services that are often valued and details the types of questions that must be asked in watershed project analysis.The bookallows those who are not economists to be comfortable discussing things like contingent valuation, marginal costs, nonmarket goods, and other terms needed to satisfy the economic analysis requirements often needed to secure funding for projects. In some cases, economic analysis does require input from a trained economist, but in many cases the analysis needed to get a grip on the problem can be tackled by someone familiar with the situation, as long as he or she has access to essential economic guidance. Environmental Economics for Watershed Restoration can provide that guidance.

PrefaceAbout the EditorsContributorsAbbreviationsIntroduction to Economic Jargon and Decision Tools; Hale W. Thurston, Matthew T. Heberling, and Alyse SchrecongostA Closer Look at Valuation Methods and Their Uses; Hale W. Thurston, Matthew T. Heberling, and Alyse SchrecongostValuing the Restoration of Acidic Streams in the Appalachian Region: A Stated Choice Method; Alan R. Collins, Randall S. Rosenberger, and Jerald J. FletcherUsing Hedonic Modeling to Value AMD Remediation in the Cheat River Watershed; James M. Williamson and Hale W. Thurston Using Benefit Transfer to Value Acid Mine Drainage Remediation in West Virginia; James M. Williamson, Hale W. Thurston, and Matthew T. HeberlingEconomics of Ecosystem Management for the Catawba River Basin; Randall A. Kramer, Jonathan I. Eisen-Hecht, and Gene E. VaughanEstimating Willingness to Pay for Aquatic Resource Improvements Using Benefits Transfer; Robert J. Johnston and Elena Y. BesedinUsing Conceptual Models to Communicate Environmental Changes; Matthew T. Heberling, George Van Houtven, Stephen Beaulieu, Randall J. F. Bruins, Evan Hansen, Anne Sergeant, and Hale W. ThurstonLocal Economic Benefits of Restoring Deckers Creek:A Preliminary Analysis; Alyse Schrecongost and Evan HansenGlossaryIndex

Hale W. Thurston is an economist in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s National Risk Management Research Laboratory in Cincinnati, Ohio. He received his PhD in Economics from the University of New Mexico, a Master’s in International Affairs from Ohio University, and a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature from Bates College. His research currently focuses on nonmarket valuation of natural resources in the policy arena and the use of market incentives to promote low-impact development. He has been especially active in a research study that looks at the use of rain gardens and rain barrels to reduce the impacts of stormwater runoff. Dr. Thurston worked on a reforestation campaign and a beekeeping project in the Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic. He currently resides in Cincinnati with his wife and two fantastic kids.