Accounting for Nature WITH USDA-NRCS
CONSERVATION PRACTICES IN THE CENTRAL GREAT PLAINS
Read: Accounting for Nature | Explore: Conservation and Communities
Earth Economics partnered with Natural Resources Conservation Services (NRCS) to produce Accounting for Nature with USDA-NRCS Conservation Practices in the Central Great Plains, a study on ecosystem services in the central Great Plains that revealed a broad sense of the economic importance of NRCS conservation investments in providing non-market benefits to communities.
The importance of quantifying and valuing non-market ecosystem service benefits has been recognized in several key pieces of federal legislation, departmental memos and agency handbooks. Tying conservation actions to changes in the value of ecosystem services offers NRCS a new way to communicate the cost-effectiveness of conservation practices to the American public and to ranchers who voluntarily implement those practices. This study establishes a framework to explore plausible links between ecosystem services and NRCS conservation practices by quantifying the effects of such practices on the economic value of non-market ecosystem services, with the goal of highlighting a broad sense of the economic importance of NRCS conservation actions.
This study revealed important data gaps and challenges to linking conservation practices with improved ecosystem function and increased ecosystem service value, and identified critical research areas to strengthen analyses of this kind. Despite these limitations, the study estimates suggest that rangeland conservation practices—specifically Brush Management and Prescribed Grazing—can significantly improve the ability of rangelands to provide a broad range of ecosystem services. Better understanding the role of conservation practices in improving non-market ecosystem service benefits supports goals shared by both ranchers and those living in nearby and downstream communities and shows that rangeland conservation provides benefits both within—and beyond—the fence line.
Suggested Citation: Fletcher, A., Metz, L. J., Wildish, J., Cousins, K. 2020. Accounting for Nature’s Value with USDA-NRCS Conservation Practices in the Central Great Plains. Earth Economics. Tacoma, WA.
The findings and conclusions in this publication are those of the author(s) and should not be construed to represent any official USDA or U.S. Government determination or policy. Mention of names or commercial products in this document does not imply recommendation or endorsement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. USDA is an equal opportunity employer and provider.
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