The Environmental and Economic Benefits of Stream Restoration: An Application to Stream Restoration in Maryland

The dissertation analyzes the economic value of improvements resulting from stream restoration within the Chesapeake Bay watershed and reviews what is known about the economic value of the services provided by restoration and the environmental improvements of stream restoration. Although there is uncertainty about the level of improved services restoration provides studies from the different disciplines help to inform the economic analysis that follows by providing evidence on the types of improvements to the services that are expected from a restoration. To assess the economic benefits of restoring streams requires an analysis of how humans value the services from streams. Some of these services accrue to individuals, who might even pay for them directly. Such services might include, for example, erosion and flood control, and their value can be determined using market data or information from private sector projects. However, many of the benefits of stream restoration are public in nature, such as improvements in water or habitat quality in locations downstream from where restoration occurs. These benefits may be substantial and are likely to be external to any market transaction. This study uses contingent valuation (CV) to measure the value of the following environmental services that may follow from stream restoration; improved water quality, habitat improvement, greater habitat diversity, more erosion and flood control, and overall health of the Chesapeake Bay. Results from the analysis of the CV survey suggest that the annual willingness to pay (WTP) for stream restoration projects within Maryland that improves degraded streams to moderately healthy ranges from $0 to $114. When extrapolated to the population of the Greater Baltimore Region the total WTP is $0 to $118.5 for a moderate stream restoration improvement. Additionally, by using pictures to evaluate the aesthetic preferences of individuals, respondents prefer streams that have open banks with limited riparian vegetation, and streams without erosion. Respondents also prefer streams that are free of trash, but have no clear preference for the shape of the stream