Sustaining Coastal Landscapes and Community Benefits
Associated People Chris Feurt
Project Goals
- Understand and measure the value of services and benefits provided by waterfront buffer lands and wetlands
- Provide place-based economic information to support decisions that reflect the true consequences of land use, restoration, and conservation practices in southern Maine
Community Impact
This project will:
- Help people understand and compare the economic consequences of different land use practices, decisions, and policies related to waterfront buffer lands and wetlands in southern Maine
- Describe the benefits and services provided by waterfront buffer lands and wetlands in southern Maine, determined through a combination of economic and ecological methods
- Explain how those benefits and services are valued by Wells Reserve stakeholders, including land use decisionmakers, planners, and policymakers
- Evaluate how the Wells Reserve and other project partners connect economic value to different conservation approaches
- Build a stronger network of people and organizations working collaboratively to protect those qualities of the southern Maine landscape that promote clean water — the basis of the local economy
- Provide templates and tools that can be applied in other places to predict and communicate the value of the benefits and services of waterfront buffer lands and to use associated information to influence policy
- Demonstrate southern Maine's ability to serve as an effective proving ground to test and transfer advanced approaches to natural resource management
Project Period
October 2010 to October 2013
Research Team Partners
- Wells Reserve
- George Perkins Marsh Institute at Clark University
- NOAA Coastal Services Center
Accomplishments
See all entries relating to this project.
Funding Source
NERRS Science Collaborative — In its first request for proposals, the collaborative received 35 letters of intent representing 26 reserves. Twenty-nine applicants submitted full proposals. Seven were funded.
