The Economics of Stream Restoration: An Update on how Stream Restoration Impacts Local Economies. A Maryland Case Study
Liam O’Meara
Chesapeake Watershed Restoration Professionals (CWRP)
Annapolis, MD and
Environmental Quality Resources, LLC
Gambrills, MD
Just as stream Restoration has emerged as a widespread practice nationally, in the Chesapeake Bay watershed it has become a ubiquitous tool in the effort to improve water quality. Hundreds of millions of dollars are invested annually in stream restoration projects across the Bay states, but nowhere more so than in Maryland, where the built environment and the Chesapeake Bay interface extensively.
The scale of this investment is so large that there are significant economic impacts that accrue and are worth understanding. We all know the major environmental benefits of restoration, but this presentation will identify and examine the economic impacts of stream restoration and use recent projects completed in Maryland as case studies. The large expenditures draw ever-increasing pushback from anti-restoration groups and including economic benefits alongside environmental ones will help to address criticism adequately and create a more accurate cost/benefit analysis than solely including environmental factors.
There is a pronounced lack of academic research on this topic at the local level, but the presentation will examine national studies and drill into what they might tell us about local effects.
About Liam O’Meara
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