Wild rice, or manoomin, is central to Ojibwe cultural identity, spiritual traditions, and physical well-being. It is an important species to the ecology of Minnesota’s lakes and rivers and provides critical food and habitat to both endemic and migratory species.
Our connection to the outdoors is embedded in the culture of the Pacific Northwest. The splendor of our natural environment beckons us, defines us, and sustains us. The outdoors are a fundamental part of our unique identity.
Farmland LP 2017 Impact Report: $21.4 Million Net Ecosystem Service Value Benefits Demonstrated Using Regenerative Agriculture at Scale.
A primer for water leaders on how to debt-finance distributed infrastructure projects and consumer rebates.
Investing in Mangroves today for a more resilient Panama tomorrow.
Nature’s Value in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest
Meadowdale Beach Park is a natural asset that provides a broad range of public benefits to Snohomish County residents.
The South Platte Natural Capital Assessment is a collaborative natural capital assessment involving over 50 public and private stakeholders. The goal of the partnership is to engage stakeholders in protecting and restoring the watershed's lands and waters. For this report the team catalogued existing data sources, identified the most important natural assets, mapped natural capital, and valued the ecosystem services produced throughout the watershed. A decision-support tool was produced to assist stakeholders with prioritizing future investments, whether for preservation or conservation.
This report suggests that the Watershed provides extensive value, approximately $7.4 billion per year in ecosystem services, to the economy and residents.
Benefit-cost analysis can be used to tie together various stakeholder interests and perspectives in a single comprehensive analysis. Snohomish County and the Sustainable Lands Strategy stakeholders are currently considering several courses of action that address floodplain management in the Lower Skykomish reach. Earth Economics has been asked to provide a holistic benefit-cost analysis framework that incorporates benefits and costs associated with economic, environmental, and social impacts to be used as a decision support tool. A holistic benefit-cost analysis is key to advancing the SLS goals of safeguarding the agricultural sector, restoring and protecting salmon habitat, and reducing flood damage.
“As long as we are forced to make choices we are going through the process of valuation.”
Understanding the value of the goods and services that nature provides is a critical first step when making decisions regarding natural resource management. Nature’s goods include fish, timber, drinking water and agricultural products, while services include food protection, drinking-water filtration, local weather and climate stability, beauty, and recreation. These are just a few examples of the natural goods and services which our communities rely on.
This report values some of the ecosystem goods and services provided by the Lower Skykomish Reach and the Braided Reach, including their associated sub-basins, in the Snohomish Watershed in Western Washington State. Our analysis reveals that the combined ecosystems of the Lower Skykomish and Braided Reach provide between $888 million and $1.6 billion in economic value every year. In present terms, the Lower Skykomish Reach and the Braided Reach are valued between $89 billion and $166 billion when considering a 100-year timeframe.
Resilient communities and economic sustainability rely on healthy ecosystems. Ecosystem Services Valuation (ESV) is key to advancing the Sustainable Lands Strategy (SLS) goals of safeguarding the agricultural sector, restoring and protecting salmon habitat, and reducing flood damage. When nature is included in the financial bottom line, it becomes harder to ignore costly impacts development decisions have on our ecosystems, and economy.
Suggested Citation: Van Deren, M., Armistead, C., Casey, P., Flores, L. 2017. Nature’s Value in the Skykomish Watershed: An Ecosystem Services Valuation of the Lower Skykomish and Braided Reach. Earth Economics. Tacoma, WA.
Prepared for Snohomish County and Snohomish County Sustainable Lands Strategy Executive Committee.
