Building an economically sustainable restoration and monitoring plan for forested watersheds in Northern Arizona

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This research links watershed and forest management metrics with ecological economics to devise a conceptual model for a watershed services market that offsets costs of large-scale ecological restoration of forested ponderosa pine forest in Northern Arizona. The purpose of this study is to develop the basis for an innovative market for watershed services provided by the Forest Service in Northern Arizona. Projected benefits of forest restoration include 1) increased water quality and quantity, 2) reduced threats to existing watershed services from catastrophic fires, and 3) lowered uncertainty for water yield for climate change. A successful water market with downstream stakeholders paying for watershed management benefits would support the maintenance, monitoring, and restoration of forest health while also providing sustainable water resources. This project has direct importance for society in terms of understanding society's willingness to pay for ecosystem services that result from forest restoration in the semi-arid Southwestern U.S. Little research exists connecting economic valuation to watershed services in the Southwestern United States, an area where: 1) water conservation and optimization are essential for expanding populations, 2) overgrown forested Ponderosa pine watersheds are degraded and in need of ecological restoration, and 3) increasing droughts and a warming climate further exacerbate threats to watershed services. If successful, the payments for ecosystems services and applications identified in this project will be transferred to millions of acres of forests in the entire Southwestern United States.