Valuing Ecosystem Services of

a Restored River of Grass

26th Annual EvCo Conference
Our Environment & Our Economy
Session
January 7, 2011
John Arthur Marshall
Presenting an ESV demonstration analysis
by the
2010 Arthur R. Marshall Summer Interns
(The Colorful Slides are theirs)
 Valuing Ecosystem
Services of a Restored
“River of Grass”
GEER 2010: Ecosystem Services Valuation as a Method
to Guide Future Planning, Policy, and Science

WRAC Meeting: July 8, 2010

Arthur R. Marshall Foundation Summer Interns:
Angelique Giraud, Ed Pritchard, Dylan Scott, Adrienne Smith, Jim Wally
 The Honorable Rock Salt gives the
2010 Summer Intern Team a thumb’s
up on their ESV
“How-to-do-it” Demonstration Project!
 Introduction
• Valuing ecosystem services = ESV is an aid to
environmental decision-making
• Six configurations are from ROG stakeholders
• Analysis uses Costanza, et al, synthesis of
planetary ecosystem services value with
benefits in terms of $$$ per acre per year
• Benefit-to-cost (B:C) ratios are indicators of
optimum value
Features Northern Estuary Florida Marshall Performa Restoratio
Expansio Driven Crystals Plan ne (P) n Plus
n (ERNE) Restorati (FC) (MPE6) TomV, Employme
Bret, on Galen, TomP, Paul, nt (RPE)
Drew (EDER) Sam Martha, Karl, etc Joan,
Ted, Bevin
Pete,
Mark, etc
STA 8,200 32,500 49,200 14,600 34,000 20,000
Deep 55,000 108,333 87,500 90,567 116,667 100,000
Storage
Flow Way 170,000 75,000 45,000 108,385    
Forested       14,500    
Wetland
Total 233,200 215,833 181,700 228,052 150,667 120,000
Acres:
Table 1. Summary of 6 ROG configuration
feature acreages.
 Values of Services for
Floodplains/marsh ($ ac-1 yr-1 )

Figure 1. ESV for floodplains ($ ac-1 yr-1 ). Services provided

by marsh/swamp configuration features share similar
functions with floodplains as defined by Constanza et al.
Water supply is the greatest economic benefit value.
 Ecosystem STA Flow Way Deep Water
Services Reservoir
Cultural 
Disturbance    (x0.5)
Regulation
Food Production 
Gas Regulation  
Habitat  
Raw Materials 
Recreation  
Pollution Control  (x1.5)
Water Regulation   

Water Supply  (x0.5)  

Table 2. Ecosystem services found in water

conservation features. Flow-ways provide significant
ecosystem services values. Values have been
adjusted to match potential functions.
 Features Annual Value ac
($ ac-1 yr-1 )
STA $8,643
Deep Water Reservoir $6,590
Flow-Way $10,499
Forested Wetland $11,470

Table 3. The annual economic value of features

in $ ac-1 yr-1 .
Figure 3. Net benefit of “river of grass” including benefits
to estuaries. The Everglades River of Grass Northern
Expansion (ERNE) configuration provides the estuaries
with the greatest ecosystem benefit. EDER=ERDC
 Total Restoration of
Estuaries

Figure 4. The benefit-to-cost ratio of configurations for the total

restoration of affected estuaries. *Florida Crystals (FC) has the
highest B:C ratio due to the absence of a deep water reservoir,
resulting in a low capital and O&M cost. EDRC=EDER (Estuary
Driven Everglades Restoration)
 2010 Summer Intern
Conclusions
• Constanza et al. synthesis is an analytic tool
• “Sticker Benefits” overcome “Sticker Shocks”
• Florida Crystals is the best plan for total
benefit and cost with B:C > 6:1 (=26:1?)
• Everglades River of Grass Northern Expansion
(ERNE) has greatest net benefit economically
• Benefit is clear & the need is pressing
 The 2010 Summer Intern
Poster Paper was presented at
GEER Conference to:
The Honorable Rock Salt, Principle Deputy Secretary of the
•
Army, Civil Works
• Greg May, Executive Director, Task Force
• SFWMD Governing Board Chair Eric Buermann
– I will use these numbers!
• Jax/CERP(+) District Engineer Colonel Al Pantano
• NRC Peer Review Study Director Stephanie Johnson
• Ronnie Best, USGS; Co-Chair, GEER/ACES
• And many other VIP’s among 500+ attendees
 What’s Happened Since GEER
Conf?
• Oct, 2010: Everglades Foundation sponsored
Mather Report released: B:C ~ 4:1
• Oct, 2010: SF Ecosystem Restoration Task Force
identifies ESV as an emerging theme
• Oct, 2010: Everglades Coalition presents a
resolution to the Task Force to push ESV
• Oct 2010: TF DRAFT Everglades Progress
Report to Congress credits Defenders of Wildlife
with ESV work
 Other ESV Considerations
• This Presentation went to the 20th Annual SW FL
Water Resources Conference, Ft. Myer, Nov 19, 2010
• WWF, TNC has ESV studies on the street
– FL Ranchlands Environmental Services Project
• White House Center for Environmental Quality is
incorporating ESV in current Draft Programs &
Guidelines on national water, land resources policy
• Follow-up results from “A Conference on Ecosystem
Services” (ACES #2), Dec 6-9, 2010, Phoenix, AZ
• Classic case most often cited: Catskills Watershed
restoration V. WTP for NYC water supply: B:C ~ 6:1
 Final Points
• Numerous NGO studies and robust B:C ratios > 6:1 indicate
viability of Ecosystem Services Valuation for better decision-
support, understandable by Office of Management & Budget,
Congress and the Public
• When ecosystem services are not given a dollar value, the default
value is zero (NRC 2005);
– Does this place policy of no net loss of wetlands at risk?
• CERP(+) implementers should adopt the ESV approach and make
the Everglades restoration Total Economic Value calculation an
example to follow.
– Take-Home Assignment: Pester CERP principals to do so!
 Final Points, Continued
NEW THOUGHTS:
• Shared Adversity has been a nice concept,
lacking Actuality.
• How about Shared Prosperity, long-term
based on CERP(+) ESV Analysis?
• NRC 2005 ESV study recommendation for a
Total Economic Valuation (TEV) applies, i.e.,
to move toward better environmental
decision making
– Shift the paradigm to CERP(+) ESV => TEV,
 Bottom Line: Environment is the
Economy
TelltheGov@PBPost.com Nov 21, 2010
Let’s get to work has to include Let’s get to
work on CERP(+) for BIG economic &
ecologic benefits, including significant
creation of jobs, and the long-term
sustainability of the Florida economy!!
 PRIMARY REFERENCES
• Costanza, et al, Report on value of the planet’s
18 biomes; Google Nature 387, or
http://www.uvm.edu/giee/publications/Nature_Paper.pdf
• Valuing Ecosystem Services – Towards Better
Environmental Decision-making, NRC 2005; See
http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11139
• For Additional information and more references:
– SEE Handout on 2010 Summer Intern approach, etc.
– Go to www.ArtMarshall.org
– Contact JAMinfo@AOL.com
– See:
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/opinion/letters/return-on-saving-everglades-90
Questions