A BENEFIT-COST ANALYSIS FOR THE PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT OF A FORESTED WETLAND IN MACOMB COUNTY, MICHIGAN

Joshua Duke, Ph.D.Over the past few centuries, social perspectives on wetlands have evolved from viewing these areas as valueless cesspools to indispensable ecosystems that provide numerous services necessary for environmental health. As social values have changed, so has the law. However, the law is struggling to keep up with the constantly increasing body of knowledge of wetlands and their impact on surrounding areas, especially nearby bodies of water. This thesis uses one of the wetlands that was at the center of the Rapanos v. United States Army Corps of Engineers Supreme Court case as a case study for how economic analysis can complement legal decision making. A benefit-cost analysis is conducted using the benefit-transfer method to determine if the 19.52 acre wetland property has a higher social value in its current state as a forested wetland or as a condominium development. By applying a published meta-analysis with a meta-regression model, the wetland was estimated to have a total 20-year value of $2,445.17. After the 2008 housing market crash, the property under study was foreclosed, indicating that developing the land would not be profitable at this time. The conclusion of this paper is that the most socially efficient use of this property currently is to allow it to remain as a forested wetland.Natural Resource Managemen