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The Waterway Benefits Study: Assessing Cultural Ecosystem Services in the St. Louis River Estuary
Citation:
Wick, M., J. Hoffman, L. Johnson, AND D. Erickson. The Waterway Benefits Study: Assessing Cultural Ecosystem Services in the St. Louis River Estuary. St. Louis River Summit, NA, NC, March 08 - 10, 2023. https://doi.org/10.23645/epacomptox.24602124
Impact/Purpose:
This presentation will share the preliminary results of the Waterway Benefits Study with the aquatic research and management community in the Twin Ports. The results of the study are intended be used by managers to improve the equitability of decision-making.
Description:
Cultural ecosystem services are intangible services that arise from the interaction of people with the environment and provide benefits to people. Cultural ecosystem services (CES) assessments have the potential to help guide environmental decision-making and increase equitability of management outcomes. However, their application to equitable decision-making is limited by a gap in understanding about how social factors like sociodemographics and social and personal identity influence CES delivery. The objective of this mixed-methods research is to advance understanding of how place and identity interact to facilitate the experience of CES by the community. The Waterway Benefits Survey, conducted in Fall 2022, assessed factors that affect the supply and demand for CES in the St. Louis River Estuary of Lake Superior, the location of ongoing environmental remediation and restoration. The survey asked participants about 1) what CES they experienced in the past year, 2) locations where they experienced CES, 3) barriers to CES experiences, and 4) their intersectional identities. Analysis will focus on how multiple aspects of identity (age, gender, race, ethnicity, economic status, etc.) interact and intersect to affect how participants experience CES. To obtain the survey sample, which includes an attempt to over-sample underrepresented groups, we established partnerships with local community organizations and leaders to help distribute the survey to a diverse audience. The survey will be followed by semi-structured interviews with a subset of participants. We will present an overview of the study design and share preliminary results from the survey. The mixed methods study will ultimately identify factors that may be be subject to managment intervention to increase supply, quality, and equity of CES benefits. These results will be specific to the St. Louis River estuary but will also provide a holistic framework for future researchers to measure and understand CES elsewhere.
URLs/Downloads:
DOI: The Waterway Benefits Study: Assessing Cultural Ecosystem Services in the St. Louis River Estuary
PRESENTATION.PDF (PDF, NA pp, 6527.785 KB, about PDF)