A River in the Balance: Benefits and Costs of Restoring Natural Water Flows to the Eel River (5.8MB) Summer 2002.
By the Center for Environmental Economic Development. This report examines the benefits and costs of dismantling the Potter Valley Project-a complex of dams, reservoirs, and tunnels-on the main stem of the Eel River. The author discusses the value of the fishery, recreational activities, generated electricity, irrigation water, and intrinsic values. The author concludes that the benefits of restoring natural flows to the Eel River may outweigh the costs.

Northwest Can Balance Electrons and Salmon (68K) March 2001.
By Ernie Niemi and Matthew Martin. In this editorial to the Seattle Times, the authors argue that allowing salmon to go extinct, so that the Northwest can generate low-priced electricity now, will damage the economy in the long run. Salmon are not a luxury, but an integral part of the region's economy, central to what it means to live in the Pacific Northwest. The authors offer solutions that may help hold down the economic costs of the electricity crisis and pending drought, while keeping water in the rivers for the salmon. The authors are economists at ECONorthwest.

Salmon, Timber, and the Economy (249K) December 1999.
By Ernie Niemi, Ed Whitelaw, Michelle Gall, and Anne Fifield. This study applies the analytical principles defined in the economists' letter (see above) to describe the potential economic consequences of proposals to promote salmon conservation by restricting logging on private and state forest lands. It summarizes the literature and data regarding the potential costs and benefits of logging restrictions as well as their negative and positive impacts on jobs and incomes. It discusses the extent to which previous, related studies comply with the economists' principles and concludes that most studies exaggerate the costs and/or negative impacts on jobs and incomes of logging restrictions, while ignoring the benefits and positive impacts. Although the report focuses on Oregon, its findings apply more generally. The authors are economists with ECONorthwest.

Salmon and the Economy: A Handbook for Understanding the Issues in Washington and Oregon (816K) November 1999.
By ECONorthwest. This short "desk reference" offers a concise summary of how salmon and the economy interact. It compiles representative data on how urban development, timber harvest, agriculture, fish harvest, and dams harm salmon. It explains the economic benefits the Pacific Northwest can expect if salmon populations and their habitat improve, what it will cost to rebuild healthy salmon populations, and how policy can be changed to help salmon while solving other problems.

The Economic Impact of a Restored Salmon Fishery in Idaho July 1999.
By Don Reading. This study uses actual trip expenditure data from chinook anglers in Idaho to show the extent to which a recovered recreational salmon fishery in Idaho would yield significant economic benefits. The results show a restored salmon fishery and the accompanying steelhead recreational fishery would support $170 million in economic expenditures and support 5,000 jobs in the state.

Valuing Multiple Programs to Improve Fish Populations (196 K) April 1999.
By David Layton, Gardner Brown, Jr. and Mark Plummer. Because there are many types of fish in the different waters of Washington state, it is difficult for policy makers to rank residents' preferences for different programs to improve fish populations. In this paper, the authors use the "stated preference" method to evaluate the value of new programs, conditional upon the fish population improvements. Their results show that Washington residents are willing to pay $120 to $325 annually per household for a 50% increase in fish population, depending on the type of fish. Layton is a professor of Environmental Science and Policy at the University of California, Davis, Brown is an economics professor at the University of Washington, and Plummer is at the Discovery Institute in Seattle. Their research was funded in part the Washington State Department of Ecology.

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