Recent Projects
Estimating Values of Maryland's State-Owned Forestland
In the fall of 2005, Main Street Economics has started undertaking research to establish four different aspects of value generated by state-owned forestland. The first of these, Commercial Timber Value, will make use of recent inventory and stock modeling data generated by Maryland DNR and the US Forest Service's Northeastern Research Station. Those data will be used in conjunction with current management plans and historical harvest rates to generate an estimate of the net present value of standing stocks of timber in general management areas. That analysis will be extended to test alternative harvest management scenarios and different categories of state-owned forestland.
A second aspect of forestland value that will be estimated under the study is that of Recreational Value. Using a travel cost approach, Main Street Economics researchers are surveying a sample of forest and park visitors at four different parks and forests around the state and will use the resulting data to estimate a demand function for recreation at those facilities. The resulting value estimates will provide a dollar measure of the recreation enjoyed on state-owned forestland. This dollar value does not represent money actually paid for recreation but, rather, is an estimate of the imputed value of the utility derived from visiting the state's parks and forests.
A third aspect of forestland value to be estimated in this study is the Passive Use Value of forestland in the state. This is the value that citizens derive from simply knowing that land is being preserved in forest uses. It will be estimated through a contingent valuation survey of a sample of Marylanders.
A fourth type of value that will be estimated under the study is that of Environmental Services. The primary focus of this component will be the sediment and nutrient uptake and carbon sequestration services provided by forests on state-owned land. Using models developed by the Maryland DNR and the researchers at the USFS Northern Global Change Program, the study team will estimate values for those services based on their opportunity costs as revealed by alternative abatement methods.
The study does not propose to develop a "whole value" measure for state-owned forests, but rather seeks to provide managers with another means for comparing management options while taking multiple uses and values into account. It will supply measures of value for these multiple uses that are all denominated in dollars.
The project is being funded by a grant from USDA to the University of Maryland's Center for Agro-Ecology and has an expected duration of one year.
Supply and Management of Oyster Harvests in the Chesapeake Bay
Disease mortality and harvest impacts have reduced eastern oyster stocks in the Chesapeake Bay to a small fraction of their historical size. This has generated interest among commercial stakeholders and some resource managers for introducing an exotic, disease resistant oyster to the Bay. This proposal, along with eight alternative actions, is currently under consideration by State and federal agencies. As a part of this effort, Main Street Economics has been engaged to undertake a bio-economic analysis of the existing oyster fishery.
The bio-economic analysis of the oyster fishery will develop estimates of harvest costs in the oyster fishery, along with public costs of restoration and management efforts. The study will then use these estimates of costs and output both to illuminate harvest behavior in the face of variable returns and to compare likely economic outcomes among the alternatives. It will also consider the costs and benefits of alternative harvest/production methods, including several different types of aquaculture.
The project is being funded by NOAA Chesapeake Bay Program Office and will be undertaken from September, 2005 through October, 2006.