Evaluating & Valuing Watershed Ecosystem Services in New Hampshire. NH EPSCoR: Ecosystems & Society

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1 Evaluating & Valuing Watershed Ecosystem Services in New Hampshire 1 NH EPSCoR: Ecosystems & Society Shannon H. Rogers, Ph.D Center for the Environment Plymouth State University shrogers@plymouth.edu

2 Research Questions How do New Hampshire residents & visitors use and value various water related ecosystem services? What are the tradeoffs among watershed & terrestrial ecosystem services? How can non-economic ecosystem services be valued? How do various land use scenarios impact watershed ecosystem services?

3 What are ecosystem services? Benefits of nature to households, communities, and economies Four main types of services: Provisioning services: food, water, timber, and fiber Regulating services: effects on climate, flow, and water quality Cultural services: recreational, aesthetic, and spiritual benefits Supporting services: soil formation, photosynthesis, and nutrient cycling (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005)

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6 Methods Particular ecosystem services in particular places Mixed methods approach with an emphasis on valuation through participatory and regional case studies throughout the state. This includes interviews, workshop/focus groups, and surveys Economic data calculation through existing models and approaches (e.g., avoided costs, benefits transfer) Utilization of multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) to compare stakeholder values and management alternatives Emphasis on generating processes and data that will be useful for decision makers

7 Watershed Management Framework Stakeholders FrAMES & other models Biophysical Conditions Ecosystem Service Values MCDA to compare values and alternatives Value Elicitation Tools: Interviews, workshops, surveys Management Alternatives

8 Key Watershed Ecosystem Services Flood mitigation Removal of pollutants-water quality (e.g. nitrogen removal) Fish Habitat Recreation Tourism Cultural

9 Workshops with Key Stakeholders Planning one with NHDES water and watershed experts Stakeholders who have forestry and watershed interests in our case study areas Goal will be to ask for their expertise in this area as well as what questions they would like to see answered/information they would like to know

10 Map from Maps.com Hubbard Brook LTER: Mirror Lake Upper Valley/ Connecticut River: Flooding, Fish Habitat, H 2 O Quality Lakes Region: Squam Lakes Watershed Wellness Seacoast Region: Nitrogen Inputs to Great Bay?

11 Squam Lakes Case Study Collaborative process with Squam Lakes Association to assess and measures values of the Lakes and the greater watershed

12 12 Progress to Date on Squam Met with E.D. and Chair of the Board of the Squam Lakes Association to formulate research questions they are interested in seeing answered Interested in looking at consumptive vs. nonconsumptive uses of the lake and the watershed (e.g. bass fishing vs. hiking) Would like to know the values of some of their major initiatives (e.g. milfoil management, trail and camp site maintenance) to the community

13 Mirror Lake This REU project will use quantitative survey and interview techniques to provide a baseline of information regarding public perceptions of lake recreation, including usage patterns, attitudes, economic valuation, and knowledge of existing scientific studies.

14 Viewshed Valuation Pilot Study 14

15 15 Objectives Through a community based case study, our objectives are to assess: 1. If and how viewsheds are valued in the greater Plymouth region; 2. How values of scenic views relate to other ecosystem services; 3. What land use planning policies exist to facilitate the inclusion of viewsheds; and 4. What communities need to be prepared for new land uses that impact ecosystem services.

16 Student Research Projects PRELIMINARY ESTIMATES ONLY BASED ON TROY (2012)

17 Next Steps/Additional Areas of Interest 17 NH Watershed Survey? Incorporating social and cultural values into ecosystem service valuation studies Integrating ecosystem services into natural resource management decisions Evaluating the role of social capital and social networks in managing for watershed ecosystem services

18 Acknowledgements NH EPSCoR is supported by the NSF Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) Program, Research Infrastructure Improvement Award #EPS CFE & PSU Dartmouth/UNH ES researchers Jamie Sydoriak, Ashley Hyde, Rebecca Brown Squam Lakes Association

19 Questions/Comments/Collaboration? Thanks for listening! Shannon H. Rogers, Ph.D Assistant Professor/Ecological Economist Center for the Environment Plymouth State University

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21 Types of Value Instrumental value- value for some other end; Intrinsic value-value for its own sake and not for the sake of any further end; Moral value-a property or attribute that gives an entity value and consequently makes that entity worthy of moral consideration; Objective value-value that inheres in nature and exists independently of being perceived (axiological realism); Inherent value-value accorded to non-human nature that is latent (potential) and must be valued in order to become actual; that valuation arises externally (extrinsically) from the entity itself through a valuing subject (anthropogenically), who values it for its own sake (noninstrumentally) (Keller 2010)