Economic Value of the Barnegat Bay Watershed

Abstract

This report summarizes the economic value of water, natural resources, and ecosystems in the Barnegat Bay watershed in Ocean County and Monmouth County, N.J., estimated as: 1. Economic activity including market and non-market value of water quality, water supply, fish/wildlife, recreation, agriculture, forests, and public parks benefits. 2. Ecosystem goods and services (natural capital) value provided by habitat such as wetlands, beaches, open water, forests, and farms. 3. Jobs and wages directly and indirectly associated with the Barnegat Bay watershed. These estimates demonstrate that the Barnegat Bay watershed provides significant economic benefits to the regional economy and are worthy of investment to keep them healthy and productive. Value-transfer techniques were applied by selecting data from published literature and applying them to the Barnegat Bay watershed using ecological economics techniques.