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Ecological-Economic Assessment Of The Effects Of Freshwater Flow In The Florida Everglades On Recreational Fisheries, Christina Estela Brown, Mahadev G. Bhat, Jennifer S. Rehage, Ali Mirchi, Ross Boucek, Victor Engel, Jerald S. Ault, Pallab Mozumder, David Watkins, Michael Sukop

USDA Forest Service / UNL Faculty Publications

This research develops an integrated methodology to determine the economic value to anglers of recreational fishery ecosystem services in Everglades National Park that could result from different water management scenarios. The study first used bio-hydrological models to link managed freshwater inflows to indicators of fishery productivity and ecosystem health, then link those models to anglers' willingness-to-pay for various attributes of the recreational fishing experience and monthly fishing effort. This approach allowed us to estimate the foregone economic benefits of failing to meet monthly freshwater delivery targets. The study found that the managed freshwater delivery to the Park had declined substantially …