NATIONAL
ESTUARY
PROGRAM
DETERMINING AN ESTUARY'S ECONOMIC VALUE &EPA
Placing an economic value on the Indian River Lagoon system is one of the important steps the Indian River National Estuary Program (IRLNEP) has taken
to increase support and justify spending for its many restoration and protection projects. With three main water bodies—the Mosquito Lagoon, Banana
River Lagoon, and the Indian River Lagoon—as well as their associated tributaries, the Indian River Lagoon system is considered the most diverse estuarine
ecosystem in North America, with over 4,000 species of plants and animals inventoried and more discovered every year. Showing Federal, state, and local
partners that the Lagoon is worthy of protection and continued restoration because of its ecological and economic importance is critical.
In 1996, the IRLNEP conducted an economic assessment and analysis of the five-county study area—and those values have served them well—but the figures no longer reflect
today's economy. The IRLNEP and its hosting agencies, St. Johns and South Florida Water Management Districts, realized they needed to collect current numbers that would. When
they updated the economic study, the results were substantial, with overall economic benefits of the Indian River Lagoon totaling more than $3.7 billion in 2007. The report at-
tracted immediate attention from the local media as well as the state's Department of Environmental Protection. The best news is that IRLNEP and its partners expect the update
to help bolster their leveraging efforts and generate the support required to accomplish future restoration and protection work around the Lagoon.
THE NATIONAL ESTUARY PROGRAM IN ACTION
Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program
To produce the most accurate
update possible, the economists
used advanced technology tools
such as the Geographical Infor-
mation System (GIS) to perform
a more comprehensive assess-
ment of properties adjacent to or
near the Lagoon compared to
properties that are further away.
Unlike the last assessment, in
which researchers only counted
developed properties, new tools
enabled them to include all prop-
erty located in the five-county
study area. Therefore, the coast-
al values totaling $824 million
(1995 dollars) in the last report
showed a remarkable jump in
the new study, which was based
on 2007 figures. The new and
more accurate capitalized value
of the Indian River Lagoon is es-
timated at $46.7 billion today,
with activities dependent on the
Lagoon generating $630 million
in income to residents, $112
million in state and local tax rev-
enues, and 15,000 full-and part-
time jobs. In addition, the recre-
ational and non-use value of the
Lagoon would increase by about
$80 million per year if there were
a significant increase in the
amount and diversity of wildlife
on the Lagoon and increased
water quality throughout the La-
goon system resulting from res-
toration and water quality im-
provement projects. The update
EFFECTIVE
EFFICIENT
ADAPTIVE
COLLABORATIVE
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also included a brief focus on the
economic value of the Lagoon's
72,400 acres of seagrass as
they support recreational and
commercial fisheries. Resource
managers and the economists
assessed seagrass value at
$329 million per year or $4,600
per year per acre of seagrass.
Furthermore, if the seagrass
value were to remain unchanged,
the study showed that over the
next 100 years, at a two percent
annual discount rate (the rate at
which future benefits are re-
duced each year), the Lagoon's
seagrass value would be
$227,000 per acre. Although not
a focus of the current study, the
researchers also pointed out the
likelihood that seagrass provides
additional economic values re-
lated to water quality and aes-
thetics. The St. Johns and South
Florida Water Management Dis-
tricts provided $100,000 to fund
the study and the IRLNEP con-
tributed $12,000 to produce out-
reach materials and to support
one of the study's economists in
her efforts to present the new
information to the public, various
advisory boards, and commit-
tees throughout the community,
including:
Other Sailing, 2%
Viewing the
River, 8%
Sailboating, 5%
Personal Water Water Fowl
Craft, 2% .-Hunting,0.28%
• Brevard County Board of
Commissioners
• Indian River Lagoon Advisory
Board
• Martin County Business Devel-
opment Committee
• South Florida Water Manage-
ment District's Water Resources
Advisory Commission
• St. John's River Water Man-
agement District's Projects and
Lands Committee
The new report has captured the
attention of local media, includ-
ing a newspaper that featured
details of the assessment on the
front page of its business sec-
tion—an appealing placement
that could help enlarge the pool
of local businesses interested in
lending support for restoration
and protection activities. Some
of the IRLNEP's partners are also
using the updated figures and
additional information in their
grant applications, and Michael
Sole, secretary of the Florida's
Department of Environmental
Protection, frequently touted the
study and its findings during a
recent speech he gave to com-
memorate the Marine Resources
Council's 25th anniversary. The
Council, a longtime IRLNEP part-
ner, is a local nonprofit environ-
mental organization that orga-
nizes a lagoon-wide citizens'
volunteer water quality monitor-
ing network. To enhance its out-
reach activities, the IRLNEP de-
veloped new traveling displays
featuring the new economic
study results and information for
its own public education events
and meetings. Furthermore, the
updated figures will play a criti-
cal role in justifying legislative
expenditures for restoration and
protection dollars in the future.
The IRLNEP plans to feature the
economic values in its state leg-
islative request, which they are
submitting in the spring of 2009.
Clearly, the $112,000 spent to
update the Indian River Lagoon
Economic Assessment was a
sound investment that pays big
dividends.
Visit www.sjrwmd.com/its
yourlagoon to learn more about
this and other IRLNEP efforts.
EPA's National Estuary Program
(NEP) is a unique and successful
coastal watershed-based program
established in 1987 under the
Clean Water Act Amendments.
The NEP involves the public and
collaborates with partners to pro-
tect, restore, and maintain the wa-
ter quality and ecological integrity
of 28 estuaries of national signifi-
cance located in 18 coastal states
and Puerto Rico.
For more information about the
NEP go to www.epa.gov/owow/
estuaries.
The NEP: Implementing the Clean Water Act in ways that are Effective, Efficient, Adaptive, and Collaborative.
EPA-842F09001
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