Forests play a vital role in protecting water quality by reducing soil erosion, sedimentation and filtering excess nutrients. This session will introduce valuation concepts from natural resource economics, including net present value and benefit transfer, and provide training on how to use a new calculator, produced by Penn State Extension, to estimate the economic benefits of conserving forest land to protect water resources. The calculator is based on an econometric model built using 40 observations of value from 18 studies measuring public willingness-to-pay (WTP) for forest-water protection throughout the US. Outputs represent the estimated value of maintaining forests (i.e., green infrastructure) for water protection services at the county level and per acre using different forest conservation strategies. Total values can be used to help inform planning and zoning decisions or demonstrate the value of local forest conservation. In this session, participants will learn how to use the calculator and integrate estimated values into planning decisions, such as a cost-benefit analysis.
Presenter
Melissa Kreye | Assistant Professor, Forest Resources Management, Penn State University
Melissa M. Kreye is an Assistant Professor of Forest Resources Management at Pennsylvania State University. She uses her expertise in non-market valuation and behavioral economics to address place-based problems in socio-ecological forest systems. Her Forest Benefits and Values program seeks to improve understanding of how people value forests and decision-making on private forest lands. Her goal as a scientist and a leader is to advance initiatives that promote robust science, collaboration, environmental sustainability, and social equity.
