The Economic Value of Water and Ecosystem Preservation

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Table of Figures Table 3-1. Acreage of Public Protected Areas.................................................................. 21 Table 3-2. Average Willingness to Pay by Activity (2002 Dollars)................................. 27 Table 3-3. Personal Income and Production Earnings By County, 2003 ($000).............. 29 Table 3-4. Direct Travel Impacts by County .................................................................... 30 Table 4-1. Descriptive Characteristics of key variables collected from surveys (for the aggregated data set)........................................................................................................... 35 Table 4-2. Results of regression analysis for aggregate data set ...................................... 36 Table 4-3. Result of regression of impact of freshwater inflows on visitor numbers....... 41 Table 5-1. Population and Growth Rate by County, 1980-2006 ...................................... 45 Table 5-2. Age Distribution, 2005 .................................................................................... 46 Table 5-3. Ethnicity distribution, 2005............................................................................. 46 Table 5-4. Educational attainment, 2000 .......................................................................... 46 Table 5-5. Employment Shift-Share Analysis, 2001 – 2005 Aransas and Calhoun......... 59 Table 5-6. Employment Shift – Share Analysis, 2001 – 2005 Aransas............................ 61 Table 5-7. Employment Shift – Share Analysis, 2001 – 2005 Calhoun........................... 63 Table 5-8. Economic Impact-Aransas/Calhoun................................................................ 65 Table 5-9. Economic Impact-Aransas............................................................................... 66 Table 5-10. Economic Impact-Calhoun............................................................................ 67 Table 5-11. County Socio-economic Characteristics........................................................ 68 iv
Executive Summary The San Antonio Bay Region, formed where the Guadalupe River meets the Guadalupe Estuary, teems with life. The San Antonio Bay and its related intracoastal system cover an area of approximately 100 square miles. The majority of the freshwater inflows to San Antonio Bay come from the Guadalupe and San Antonio Rivers which have historically supplied about 80% of the total freshwater inflows into this estuary (Longley, 1994). Estuarine ecosystems provide myriad ecosystem functions, including many goods and services used by humans. These estuarine ecosystems are dependent upon freshwater inflows in order to maintain their ability to function properly. There are many complexities in the system due to relationships between species, nutrients, and other input factors into the ecosystem. In general, the roles of freshwater are relatively well understood, although the precise impacts of marginal changes in flows are not known at this time. More important than a large quantity of inflows is the large seasonal fluctuation of inflows. Many organisms depend on the ecosystem for different periods of their life cycles. Seasonal fluctuations, droughts, and floods are all necessary in order to maximize the productivity of estuaries for fishery purposes. While increased inflows generally have a positive and linear correlation with increased fish populations, if inflows are consistently high, estuary productivity can decrease. Impacts on the Freshwater Inflows to the San Antonio Bay The San Antonio Bay region’s uniquely diverse habitats and ecosystems are experiencing increasing pressure from human development. This ecosystem will have to adapt to varying amounts of freshwater inflow due to human development especially in and around the city of San Antonio. An adequate amount of water is of critical importance to sustaining the remarkable biodiversity of the Bay, yet the ecosystem’s water needs are only recently beginning to be addressed. Given the mounting pressures on the environment, it is increasingly important that adequate freshwater is allocated to sustain the ecosystem. Ecotourism in the San Antonio Bay Region As more and more people have become aware of the ecological treasures that exist there, ecotourism has developed into a rapidly growing sector of the regional economy. Ecotourism in the San Antonio Bay can have a significant impact on the local economy. In 2003 more than 71,000 people visited the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge to view flocks of migratory birds and other wildlife. Ecotourists provide business to hotels, nature-tour operators and restaurants. In addition, various hotels, RV parks, nature tours and outdoor recreation stores advertise their role in the ecotourism industry and the availability of good birding opportunities located nearby. However, due to the lack of consistent and complete data, it is difficult to quantify the economic impact of ecotourism on the San Antonio Bay region. Currently, comprehensive data on the number of people that come to visit the v
Page 1 and 2: Final Report to the Texas Coastal M
Page 3: 5.2.2. Sources / Data .............
Page 7 and 8: ecotourism included in the model. T
Page 9 and 10: 1. Overview of San Antonio Bay Regi
Page 11 and 12: and shellfish species and estuarine
Page 13 and 14: According to the Rockport-Fulton Ch
Page 15 and 16: effect is limited by assimilative c
Page 17 and 18: freshwater inflow acts as a mechani
Page 19 and 20: sulfide. Heavy metals bounds to sed
Page 21 and 22: inflow levels and populations of se
Page 23 and 24: and could potentially make the cran
Page 25 and 26: 3. Characterization of Ecotourism i
Page 27 and 28: Contributes actively to the conserv
Page 29 and 30: Figure 3-1. Public Protected Areas
Page 31 and 32: 1987 and then purchased in 1991. Pr
Page 33 and 34: 3.3.2. The Economics of Multiple Na
Page 35 and 36: Table 3-2. Average Willingness to P
Page 37 and 38: Table 3-3. Personal Income and Prod
Page 39 and 40: impact. It is necessary to conduct
Page 41 and 42: 4.2. Key Site Details for the Analy
Page 43 and 44: approach allows examination of ques
Page 45 and 46: This average number of trips from t
Page 47 and 48: occasional flood and drought events
Page 49 and 50: The results of the regression yield
Page 51 and 52: gallons, which results in a value o
Page 53 and 54: Aransas distinguishes itself from C
Page 55 and 56:
thresholds vary according the size
Page 57 and 58:
The total number of full-time and p
Page 59 and 60:
The County also shows a lower educa
Page 61 and 62:
Refugio shows a rapid decrease in t
Page 63 and 64:
IM t+ n ic = E t ic ⎡⎛ E × ⎢
Page 65 and 66:
included an economic analysis of th
Page 67 and 68:
Table 5-5. Employment Shift-Share A
Page 69 and 70:
Fishing and related activities. The
Page 71 and 72:
Figure 5-15. Employment change by s
Page 73 and 74:
5.3.2. Input-Output Analysis The in
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Calhoun Calhoun County’s experien
Page 77 and 78:
an advantage, particularly in oyste
Page 79 and 80:
Impacts on the Freshwater Inflows t
Page 81 and 82:
However, due to the lack of consist
Page 83 and 84:
This implicitly assumes that flows
Page 85 and 86:
for fresh product. This fishery wil
Page 87 and 88:
Elliot, D. (2007). Competitive Adva
Page 89 and 90:
Pearce, D. W. (1994). The MIT Dicti
Page 91 and 92:
The Nature Conservancy. (2002). "Na
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The Economic Value of Water and Ecosystem Preservation

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