Economic Valuation of Ecosystem Services in the New York State Parks Team 2 Progress Update April 6, 2010 Anna Christie-Carnicella, Caroline Girard, Lauren Jorgensen, Emily Starr

Project Goals Research Question:  What is the most comprehensive method for approximating the value of ecosystem benefits, incorporating the intangible and non-consumptive features of the New York State Park System? End Product  The resulting equation will act as a tool for parks to evaluate the non-economic values of park services

The Equation Ecosystem Benefits ($/yr) = V + C + W + B V = Recreation = (# visitors) ($0.71/visitor) 1 C = Carbon Sequestration = (# ha forest) ($493/ha) 2 W = Water Filtration = (# ha wetland) ($4310/ha) + (# ha lakes & rivers) ($665/ha) + (# ha forest) ($87/ha) 3 B= Biodiversity = ($3,410,000/#total spp in state parks)(total speices richness in park) 1 Leonard, J Robinson, G Constanza et al Evans & VanLuven

Literature Search Constanza, R. et al The value of the world’s ecosystem services and natural capital. Nature 387: Leonard, J Wildlife watching in the U.S.: the economic impacts on national and state economies in U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, D.C. Evans, D.J. & VanLuven, D.E Biodiversity in New York State’s Park System: Summary of Findings. New York State Museum, Albany, NY. Robinson, G Calculations applied to forest ecosystem benefits with citations. Unpublished data.

Paper Outline Executive Summary Introduction  Ecological Economics  Ecosystem Benefits  Valuation Methods  New York State Parks  Project Goals Methods  Equation Results  Case Studies Discussion  Comparison to current literature  Implications  Applications  Limitations Future Directions

Timeline Update April 6  Equation  Outline of Paper  Completed literature search Next Steps  Putting equation in easy-to use format Excel spreadsheet? Website?  Select case studies based upon the equation  Analyze results