Project Grant 84046401

DESCRIPTION:THE GOAL OF THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS TO DEVELOP A NON-MARKET VALUATION SURVEY ADMINISTERED TO RESIDENTS ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER TO EVALUATE HOW BENEFITS VARY ACROSS SOCIOECONOMIC AND GEOGRAPHIC SCALES AND POPULATIONS OF CONCERN. RESEARCH WILL EVALUATE TRADEOFFS BETWEEN EQUITY AND EFFICIENCY WITH RESPECT TO WATER QUALITY IMPROVEMENTS AND RIVER RESTORATION AND WILL ALSO EXPLORE HOW DIFFERENT METHODS LEAD TO ALTERNATIVE POLICY CONCLUSIONS RESULTING IN BETTER APPROACHES/TOOLS FOR POTENTIAL POLICY ACTIONS. OVERALL, THE RESEARCH WILL EMPOWER COMMUNITIES TO ADVOCATE FOR THEIR PRIORITIES AND WILL LEAD TO IMPROVED UNDERSTANDING OF THE BENEFITS AND DISTRIBUTION OF WATER QUALITY CHANGES. ACTIVITIES:ACTIVITIES TO BE PERFORMED INCLUDE A NON-MARKET VALUATION SURVEY ADMINISTERED TO RESIDENTS OF THE 246 COUNTIES AND PARISHES THAT BORDER OR ARE ADJACENT TO THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. THE SURVEY WILL ASK RESPONDENTS TO REPORT DAY AND OVERNIGHT TRIPS TO THE RIVER AND WILL INCLUDE A DISCRETE CHOICE REFERENDUM BASED ON PROPOSED CHANGES IN WATERSHED RESTORATION AND MANAGEMENT, RECREATIONAL, CULTURAL, AND/OR ECOLOGICAL VALUES. IN ADDITION TO A 'PUSH TO WEB' APPROACH BASED ON POSTCARD MAILERS TO A RANDOMLY-SELECTED ADDRESS#8208;BASED SAMPLE, POTENTIAL SURVEY PARTICIPANTS WILL BE IDENTIFIED VIA SOCIAL MEDIA PROFILES AND SIGNAGE AT RIVER LOCATIONS WILL DIRECT VISITORS TO AN ONLINE SURVEY. ENGAGEMENT WITH COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS WORKING ON ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ALONG THE RIVER WILL TAKE THE FORM OF PARTICIPATORY WORKSHOPS AND CO-DESIGN OF CITIZEN SCIENCE APPROACHES THAT ADDRESS COMMUNITY-ARTICULATED PRIORITIES FOR RESTORATION OR MANAGEMENT.SUBRECIPIENT:UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON, LEAD PI, SPENCER WOOD TEAM MEMBERS FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON WILL: -DEVELOP, TEST, AND DEPLOY APPROACHES FOR USING NEW TECHNOLOGY AND DATA SOURCES TO ELICIT INFORMATION FROM COMMUNITIES WITHIN THE STUDY CORRIDOR. -STORE AND AGGREGATE RAW DATA TO CHARACTERIZE POPULATIONS -SUMMARIZE FINDINGS IN REPORTS AND PUBLICATIONS MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY, LEAD PI, DR. FRANK LUPI TEAM MEMBERS FROM MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY WILL: -CONTRIBUTE TO THE DESIGN, TESTING AND IMPLEMENTATION OF WATER QUALITY VALUES USING THE SURVEY DATA AND AVAILABLE SECONDARY DATA -ADVISE O N AND CONTRIBUTE TO THE ECONOMIC MODELING OF WATER QUALITY VALUES USING THE SURVEY DATA AND AVAILABLE SECONDARY DATA. -CONTRIBUTE TO AND CO-AUTHOR PROJECT-RELATED PUBLICATIONS.OUTCOMES:GRANT RESULTS INCLUDE NEW METHODS OF ELICITING ENVIRONMENTAL VALUES AND INSIGHTS INTO HOW DIFFERENT METHODS LEAD TO ALTERNATIVE POLICY CONCLUSIONS ACROSS EQUITY AND EFFICIENCY OBJECTIVES. IN ADDITION TO PEER REVIEWED PAPERS AND PRESENTATIONS, THE RESEARCH WILL MAKE CONTRIBUTIONS TO BENEFIT-COST ANALYSES AND WILL INFORM THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEXT-GENERATION INTEGRATED ASSESSMENT MODELS BY TESTING THE GENERALIZABILITY AND SCALABILITY OF NEW METHODS FOR VALUATION ACROSS SPATIAL AND DEMOGRAPHIC GRADIENTS. LAST, THE PROJECT WILL DELIVER BENEFICIAL OUTCOMES TO PARTNER COMMUNITIES ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. INTENDED BENEFICIARIES INCLUDE THE PUBLIC, STATE AND LOCAL ENVIRONMENTAL AGENCIES, REGULATORS, AND PARTNER COMMUNITIES ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER.