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TOWARD EFFICIENT RIPARIAN RESTORATION: INTEGRATING ECONOMIC, PHYSICAL, AND BIOLOGICAL MODELS
Citation:
Watanabe, M., R. M. Adams, J. Wu, J. P. Bolte, M. M. Cox, S. L. Johnson, W. J. Liss, W. G. Boggess, AND J L. Ebersole. TOWARD EFFICIENT RIPARIAN RESTORATION: INTEGRATING ECONOMIC, PHYSICAL, AND BIOLOGICAL MODELS. Presented at North Pacific International Chapter of American Fisheries Society, Stevenson, WA, November 1-3, 2004.
Description:
This paper integrates economic, biological, and physical models to determine the efficient combination and spatial allocation of conservation efforts for water quality protection and salmonid habitat enhancement in the Grande Ronde basin, Oregon. The integrated modeling system consists of a physical model that links riparian conditions and hydrological characteristics to water temperature; a biological model that links water temperature and riparian conditions to salmonid abundance, and an economic model that estimates economic efficiency of alternative targeting criteria to enhance salmon and trout production. A series of optimization problems are investigated for different policy targets. Our findings indicate that passive restoration is more efficient economically than active restoration if the magnitude of desired temperature reduction is small in a relatively long time frame. In terms of spatial allocation of restoration activities, localized effects of restoration efforts on temperature reduction are important to achieve small temperature reductions. However, as the desired magnitude of temperature reductions increases, the cumulative (longitudinal) effects become more important. Tributaries should be the primary target if the objective is to maximize the stream length where temperature targets are met. Finally, for the conservation funds to be allocated efficiently, fishery benefits, not water temperature levels, should be directly targeted.