Article 48

This paper is a literature review intended to establish a practical approach to estimating costs and benefits of alternative riparian management scenarios. Although the review did not address the specific objective of estimating marginal economic benefits associated with changes in the riparian management zone width and management practices, a few key findings were noted in this review:  Several studies provide examples of integrated physical, biological, and economic analysis of forest management and riparian restoration. However, most of these call for scenarios with significant management changes.  The areas of valuation literature most relevant to the objective of this review were 1) hedonic property values studies of water quality and 2) aquatic-based recreational demand studies. In particular, the benefits of improving or preventing degradation of water quality and recreational fishing literature was the most numerous and beneficial.  Spatial differences are significant and should be a factor in riparian management. For example, riparian areas near population centers are more valuable, especially due to increased recreational opportunity. Differences in how areas are managed directly contributes to differences in values and GIS analysis is invaluable in this area.