Green Really Is Green: Environmental Economics

Everyone knows that money doesn't grow on trees. But did you know that trees do have value that can help you keep money in your pocket? Natural resources provide us with environmental goods, services, and opportunities that have real economic value. While there are some different opinions over putting a dollar amount on our natural resources, it can be an important educational tool for promoting conservation. Many people don’t realize that the environment is providing us with free services that we would otherwise have to pay for ourselves.

Coming up with dollar values for environmental goods and services is no easy task, and there are many different techniques that can be used. They include: surveying people to find out what they would be willing to pay to protect a natural resource (like donating money to protect the Florida Everglades); calculating the cost of replacing an environmental service if it were lost (like water filtration from a wetland if it were developed); assessing the commercial value of sporting good industries that revolve around environmental resources (like bird watching, hunting, fishing, hiking, and mountain biking); just to name a few.

The Water Resources Agency at the University of Delaware Institute for Public Administration recently released a report on the economic value of the White Clay Creek Wild and Scenic River watershed. Depending on the valuation technique administered,

“The water, natural resources, and ecosystems of the White Clay Creek watershed contribute an economic value of $165 million to $1 billion annually to the economies of Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland.” 

Specifically, this report looked at three different ways to measure environmental economic contributions: direct economic values, calculated ecosystem goods and service values, and jobs and wages values.

The first technique, direct environmental values, measures the economic activity associated with things like water supply, recreation, and wildlife. For example, how much money is generated through water utility bills each year, or how much money do people spend on bird and wildlife watching in the White Clay Creek? The answers might surprise you. Those two dollar values alone total more than $95 million per year in the White Clay Creek. All of the components combined (water supply and quality, fish and wildlife, recreation, agriculture, forests, and public parks) are estimated to generate $520 million annually.

The second technique, calculated ecosystem goods and services values, are a little more difficult to estimate but are equally as powerful. The White Clay Creek watershed provides our community with certain environmental goods and services that we would otherwise have to pay to replace. For example, did you know that a conservative estimate of the value of a freshwater wetland is roughly $13,600 per acre per year? That means that each year, a single acre of wetlands provides more than $13,000 worth of goods and services that include water filtration, water storage to reduce flooding, natural habitat for birds and fish, and nutrient removal from suburban and agricultural fertilizer use. Wetlands aren’t the only natural features to provide such benefits. Farmland, forests, open water, and even urban areas benefit society economically in a variety of different ways. Combined, all ecosystem goods and services in the White Clay Creek are valued at more than $165 million per year.

Finally, the third valuation technique, jobs and wages, draws a link between nature and the economy by counting the number of jobs within the watershed that are related to the environment. Each time you rent a canoe, chat with a state park ranger, have a glass of wine or beer or even visit this website, the person on the other end of the interaction has a job (either directly or indirectly) because of the environment. Environmental industries within the White Clay Creek watershed (like eco-tourism, agriculture, fisheries, recreation, environmental nonprofits, and more) directly and indirectly employ about 25,000 people and provide more than $1 billion in annual wages.

While these dollar values are estimates, they provide simple but compelling proof that, in many ways, our economy and the environment are connected. Protecting natural resources in areas like the White Clay Creek watershed makes both environmental and financial cents. Though these dollar figures don’t tell the complete story of the White Clay Creek, it does confirm what many people already know: this is an incredibly invaluable watershed!

For more information on the University of Delaware Water Resources Agency's reports on environmental values, click here.

Reduce Runoff; Slow It Down, Spread It Out, Soak It in! Swift Park Vegetated Swales.

With the help of New Castle County workers and numerous volunteers, Swift Park, located in Hockesssin, Delaware off of Old Lancaster Pike, now has two vegetated swales leading to a small tributary of the White Clay Creek. Vegetated swales are a type of BMP (Best Management Practice) as stated by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and serve many purposes, its biggest contribution being to help better manage the stormwater runoff that can contaminate your drinking water.

What's the big deal? Water is everywhere. In fact, the earth is comprised of over 70% water. The problem, less than 1% of that is safe drinking water! This is where BMPs and stormwater management become incredibly important to protecting water quality and quantity, not only for today, but for future generations.

The swales at Swift Park were originally installed to help with stormwater runoff coming from the impermeable surface area of the paved parking lot adjacent to Mill Creek. The original swales were lined in turf grass and mowed on a regular basis, with the main function being to convey water away from the parking area and into the creek. While this is good for parking, this does little to help with water quality. A better way to use these swales is to vegetate them with a native plant community, and that is what the White Clay Wild and Scenic Program, along with New Castle County, North Creek Nurseries, and funding from Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation (DNREC) set out to do this past year.

The primary goal of the swales, as stated earlier, is to convey stormwater, but they can also function to help slow down, spread out, and soak in stormwater runoff from smaller, more typical rain events. They were not created to manage the larger storm events we have seen in recent years, such as Hurricane Sandy (seen below, pre-planting). However, newly vegetated, the swales are now trapping some of the sediment (dirt and debris) that would have ordinarily made its way directly into the creek as well as filtering out some of the nutrients.

Prior to these swales being installed, the water would sweep debris, chemicals, and anything in its path off the roads and parking lot, through the grass, and eventually into the creek, where it can pollute your drinking water. Now, during smaller, more common rain events of 1" or less,  water runs into the swales, is slowed down by the vegetation, and the same polluted runoff has a better chance of infiltrating the ground. The native plants in turn help filter and infiltrate the water before it reaches the creek. This may seem like a small contribution to water quality improvement, and in commercial areas where there is more development and impervious surface coverage, it is difficult to completely control stormwater runoff. But every little thing we do adds up, and one easy way we can all better manage stormwater is by utilizing green infrastructure (native plant based BMPs) that can be as simple as a vegetated swale or small rain garden on your own property.

As if water quality wasn't enough, vegetated BMPs support native wildlife by providing habitat refuges. Native plants provide food and shelter for many species of animals. They do all this, and with proper care can also be beautiful landscapes! These swales in particular have many native plants that should begin blooming with in the first growing season, such as Lobelia cardinalis (Cardinal flower) seen blooming to the right which attracts hummingbirds with its shocking red, tubular flowers. You can find a full plant list used at Swift Park at the bottom of the page. Soon enough, the swales will be completely filled in with the native plants that are sure to be more attractive to park goers and wildlife alike; at the same time helping to improve your drinking water, little by little.

Native Plant List for Swift Park Swales:

Creek sedge (Carex amphibola)

Emory’s sedge (Carex emoryi)

Turtlehead (Chelone glabra)

Hot lips turtlehead (Chelone lyonii 'Hot Lips’)

Tufted hairgrass (Deschampsia cespitosa)

Hardy ageratum/ Eupatorium (Eupatorium coelestinum)

Blue flag iris (Iris versicolor)

Soft rush/ Poverty rush (Juncus effuses/ Juncus tenuis)

Spike gayfeather (Liatris spicata)

Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis)

Great blue lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica)

Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica)

Eastern bee balm (Monarda bradburiana)

Obedient plant 'Pink manners' (Physostegia v. 'Miss Manners')

Appalachian mountain mint (Pycnanthemum muticum)

Golden groundsel (Senecio aureus)

Fireworks goldenrod (Solidago rugosa 'Fireworks')

For more on native plant suggestions, click here.

To view photo gallery from project, click here.

-article written by Ed Trommelen, summer intern 2013

To learn more about stormwater BMP's check out the video below created by the EPA.

The Fifth Annual White Clay Creek Fest boasts record attendance!

Saturday May 4^th White Clay Creek State Park held the 5^th annual Creek Fest and had record attendance!  With a car count of 400 they conservatively estimated attendance at 1000 people! This is the highest attendance we have seen at Creek Fest, second was 2012 with an attendance of 800. The first 300 people received BPA free water bottles to encourage people to choose tap over bottled water, and White Clay Creek watershed passports were given out to encourage children and families to get out in nature and enjoy the many things that make the White Clay Creek watershed unique. Creek Fest is put on by Delaware State Parks, White Clay Wild and Scenic Program and the National Park Service to celebrate our precious natural resource – the White Clay!  It is supported by Suez United Water, The Friends of White Clay Creek State Park, the City ofNewark and The American Mushroom Institute.  In addition, the PA Friends of the White Clay Creek Preserve led 40 attendees on a pre-fest Mason Dixon Hike. Saturday brought beautiful weather, together with great music by Unity Reggae, the Juggling Hoffman’s and a live bird show by Animal Behaviors and Conservation Connections. We even had a special guest announce the band, Paul Baumbach Delaware State Representative for the 23^rd District.

Families who attended enjoyed crafts, face painting, and watershed related exhibits by local organizations such as Delaware Nature Society, Tri-State Bird Rescue, Wilmington Trail Club, Hale Byrns House, Southeastern Lyme Association, OH Farm and more. New this year were local artists whose work were on display for purchase. People also enjoyed food by Homegrown Cafe, Wood Fired Pizza and UD Creamery.

View photos at: Creek Fest 2013 Flickr and on the White Clay Creek State Park Facebook Page.