The Economic Benefits of Land Conservation Jennifer Plowden, Senior Conservation Economist October 13, 2018 Land for People The Trust for Public Land creates parks and protects land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come 1
Conservation Economics Examining measurable economic benefits of conserved lands. Translating perceived values into dollars and cents Conserved lands can: Propel economic development Enable recreation Increase public health Reduce stormwater and air pollution Provide natural goods and services Support agriculture, fishing, and forestry Bolster tourism Enhance property value 2
Thinking about economic benefits Photo: David Middleton Who is your audience? What are you trying to get them to do? Different messages resonate with different target audiences. Consider your community s other priorities Economic Development Photo: Jonathan Betz Conserved lands make the area an attractive place to live and work. Attracts businesses Attracts skilled workers Available information on the quality of life in the community Awards won Business leader quotes Esri Business Analyst Businesses, sales, employees Fee based Bureau of Economic Analysis Outdoor recreation economy accounts for 2.2% of national GDP 3
Recreational Use Photo: Jerry and Marcy Monkman Value gained by residents from outdoor activities. Oregon State University - Recreation Use Values Database http://recvaluation.forestry.oreg onstate.edu/database Combine with user data for economic evaluation Trail counts Surveys Improved Health Photo: Jerry and Marcy Monkman When people have access to trails and parks they exercise more. Adults who exercise regularly save $1,230-$2,460/year Centers for Disease Control and Prevention obesity data http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/dat a/adult.html County Health Rankings & Roadmap http://www.countyhealthrankin gs.org/ 4
Natural Goods and Services Photo: The Nature Conservancy Reduced stormwater runoff Conserved lands can reduce the costs of stormwater management by capturing precipitation and/or slowing its runoff. Air pollution removal Vegetation improves air quality by removing air pollutants, including: o Carbon monoxide o Nitrogen dioxide o Ozone o Particulate matter o Sulfur dioxide http://www.itreetools.org/ Natural Goods and Services Over a dozen state-level analyses by The Trust for Public Land. Every $1 invested in state land conservation programs returns $4 to $11 in natural goods and services. Pennsylvania s Keystone Fund: Every $1 invested in land conservation returns $7 in natural goods and services 5
Industries Supported by Conservation Photo: Dietrich Gehring Agriculture, forestry, and commercial fishing o USDA Census of Agriculture https://www.agcensus.usda.gov/ o Bureau of Economic Analysis BEARFACTS http://www.bea.gov/regional/bea rfacts/ o Census County Business Patterns http://www.census.gov/program s-surveys/cbp.html Tourism Photo: Ian Maclellan Conserved lands attract nonresidents to the area. These visitors spend money in local communities. Sources Visitors bureaus State departments of tourism Research universities 6
Tourism National Park Service Visitor spending and jobs o o o National State Park https://www.nps.gov/subj ects/socialscience/vse.ht m Source: National Park Service Tourism Outdoor Industry Association https://outdoorindustry.or g/advocacy/ Source: Outdoor Industry Association 7
Enhanced Property Value Photo: Johnson County Park & Recreation District Market values of properties near conserved lands are frequently higher than properties located elsewhere. An increase in property values generally means increased property tax revenues. Sources to cite: Dr. Virginia McConnell Dr. Margaret Walls Dr. John Crompton National Association of Realtors CEOs for Cities Urban Land Institute Local developers Ads for new development Cost of Community Services Photo: Rich Reid American Farmland Trust Cost of Community Services Nationally Residential: $1.16 in services for every $1 Working and open lands: $0.35 in services for every $1 Other communities http://www.farmlandinfo. org/sites/default/files/c OCS_08-2010_1.pdf 8
Messengers Nontraditional advocates who are authentic to the benefit Business owners Doctors Educators Farmers/ranchers Chambers of commerce Realtors Partnerships Build a diverse coalition Economic development agency Health Tourism Take advantage of partner s networks Newsletters Volunteers Presentations at meetings 9
Media Additional Information The Trust for Public Land www.tpl.org Reports Available: www.tpl.org/conservation-economics Contact Information: Jessica Sargent Director, Conservation Economics Jessica.Sargent@tpl.org (207) 772-7424 ext. 6 Jennifer Plowden Senior Conservation Economist Jennifer.Plowden@tpl.org (857) 214-0430 10
Appendix A How to make the case for land conservation and respond to common misconceptions Conservation takes land off the tax rolls Many land trust due pay taxes or make payments in lieu of taxes. Shift emphasis to focus on: Cost of community services Enhanced property value Tourism Agriculture, forestry, and commercial fishing Examples: http://legislature.maine.gov/uploads/original s/land-trust-highlights-final.pdf http://wfltmaine.org/assets/mdacf-handout- 2017.pdf 11
Open space only provides economic benefits in cities Photo: Juan Carlos Chan/Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks Emphasize the economic role of land conservation in your community: Economic development Supporting local business Tourism Outdoor recreation Agriculture, fishing, forestry, wildliferelated Other infrastructure investments create more jobs Focus on how land conservation investments can have an economic impact and, more importantly, can provide critical support for the economy as a whole: Economic impact and IMPLAN modeling Economic development Tourism Agriculture, forestry, and commercial fishing Example: www.nrpa.org/parkeconreport 12
Our community has other priorities Determine how to make conservation a part of those other priorities. Highlight: Economic development Conservation can be part of other priorities Working landscapes Transportation Flood protection Water quality http://www.landtrustalliance.org/to pics/economic-benefits Conservation is a luxury our community cannot afford https://headwaterseconomics.org/tools /economic-profile-system/ Reframe as an investment your community can not afford to miss. Talk about: Economic development Recreation Health Clean air and clean water Agriculture, forestry, and commercial fishing Tourism Enhanced property values Cost of community services Get information about the economics of your community using Headwaters Economics tool. 13
Appendix B Additional Resources and Sources Enhanced Property Value: Sources Dr. Virginia McConnell and Dr. Margaret Walls, Resources for the Future http://www.rff.org/files/sharepoint/workimages/download/rff- REPORT-Open%20Spaces.pdf Dr. John Crompton, Texas A&M University http://rpts.tamu.edu/the-proximate-principle-impact-of-parks-onproperty-value/ National Association of Realtors Brad Broberg, Everybody Loves a Park: Green Space Is a Premium When Building, Buying, or Selling, National Association of Realtors, On Common Ground (2009): 20 25. http://www.slideshare.net/realtors/smart-growth-oncommon-ground-winter09 CEOs for Cities http://www.reconnectingamerica.org/assets/uploads/2009walki ngthewalkceosforcities.pdf Urban Land Institute http://uli.org/report/active-transportation-real-estate-nextfrontier/ 14
Tourism U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Survey of hunting, fishing, and wildlife watching Free http://census.gov/library/publi cations.html Banking on Nature - National Wildlife Refuge Visitation Free https://www.fws.gov/refuges/ about/refugereports/ Natural Goods and Services Mapping and valuing ecosystem services o Carbon o Coastal vulnerability o Crop pollination o Fisheries o Habitat quality o Managed timber production o Recreation o Sediment retention o Water purification Free http://www.naturalcapitalp roject.org/invest/ 15
Resiliency Green Infrastructure Reduced flooding Greenways Human health Water quality Air quality Urban heat stress reduction Increased property value Green jobs Fee based https://autocase.com/#/ Resiliency Extreme events SHELDUS is a countylevel hazard loss data set for the U.S. for 18 different natural hazard events types such thunderstorms, hurricanes, floods, wildfires, and tornados. Fee based http://hvri.geog.sc.edu/sh ELDUS/ 16