Economic Value of Stream Degradation across the Central Appalachians
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This study demonstrates a method to calculate the economic value of the loss of a
highly valued ecosystem service—the provision of recreational fishing—across a multi-state
assessment region. We estimated annual freshwater fishing expenditures foregone from
degraded conditions in wadeable streams that are potential habitat to one or more of four
sportfish species. Using probability-based federal surveys for data on sportfish presence, we
developed range models for the four species in the mountainous portions of four U.S. mid-
Atlantic states based on geophysical stream variables unrelated to habitat condition. From
these models, we determined the proportion of the wadeable stream resource (44.2%) that
could potentially host sportfish and allocated an estimate of annual regional freshwater fishing
expenditures (US$826 million) from the National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-
Associated Recreation to these stream segments. We attributed the absence of sportfish in
these segments to stream degradation; an additional US$239 million was estimated as lost
freshwater fishing expenditures. These figures suggest a considerable annual economic incentive
for stakeholders to restore and protect stream habitat for the maintenance of sport fisheries.
This method is readily transferable to other U.S. regions where long-term surveys that
collect metrics linked to ecosystem services are in place.