The natural capital in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, provides a robust flow of essential economic goods and services benefits, including food, water, clean air, natural beauty, climatic stability, storm and flood protection, and recreation. Agricultural lands make up over 65% of the ecosystems in Lancaster County, which is the first county in the nation to reach 100,000 acres of preserved farmland. This analysis identified the natural capital from farmland preservation at $676 million in annual economic benefits. If treated like an asset, Lancaster County ecosystems value at $17.5 billion.
http://www.eartheconomics.org/all-publications/2015/3/1/b...
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Thank you to our partners in Lancaster County including the Lancaster County Agriculture Council, the Lancaster County Workforce Investment Board, the Lancaster Farmland Trust, and the Lancaster County Agricultural Preservation Board. Additional support was received from the Lancaster County Conservation District (Don McNutt, Andrew Hake).
