Natural disasters are an increasingly costly and frequent occurrence globally and in the United States (IPCC, 2012; IPCC, 2014; Berlemann & Steinhardt, 2017). Discrete disaster events, such as coastal flooding, have been shown to be push factors in temporary and long-term migration (Black et al., 2013). Policy efforts to adapt...
The social sciences have the capacity to contribute to natural resource management through investigations of human dynamics associated with the environment. Sense of place (SOP), the formed relationships between an individual and the environment, has been considered a fundamental aspect of human well-being and can contribute to more holistic understanding...
Natural resources play a crucial role in human society by providing both market value and non-market value. Effective management of these resources is necessary to achieve a balance between economic value and other non-market benefits. Econometric studies focusing on natural resource management help us understand the costs and benefits of...
Forests provide a wide range of timber and non-timber products along with providing a range of ecological services and support for biodiversity. Climate change poses various risks to forest health, as it can disrupt tree growth functions and trigger natural disturbances that increase tree mortality. In recent decades, altered disturbance...
Efficient and effective climate policies require cost estimates supported by empirical analysis at multiple spatial scales. Fine-scale spatial analysis of climate impacts for rural land markets represents a gap in the current climate change economics literature. In this dissertation I estimate relationships between climate, risk and parcel-level land values for...
Climate change affects the choice of land-use not only through its direct effect on the productive potential of land, but also through human actions that alter the landscape. In this dissertation, I estimate current climate's effect on the economic net returns to alternative land-use systems in the United States. Then...
Coastal communities throughout the US West Coast and elsewhere are facing the daunting task of preparing for climate change impacts, particularly the hazards from increased flooding and erosion. With sea-level rise, changing storminess patterns, and possible changes to the frequency and severity of major El Niño events, communities are already...
The Endangered Species Act is hailed as the “gold standard” of species conservation legislation both in the U.S. and globally. There are scarce conservation funds that we as a society can spend on the recovery of endangered species, so it is important to understand how the parties involved with this...
Forests are highly valuable resources providing both timber as well as many non-use values like habitat for various endangered and threatened species, carbon sequestration, and recreation, to name a few. Given that there are 765 million acres of forestland in the United States, almost 60% of which are privately owned,...
Sandy beaches and dunes cover approximately one-third of the world’s ice-free coastlines and provide ecosystem services including coastal protection, recreation, wildlife habitat, and carbon sequestration. These dynamic interface habitats are variably shaped by wind, waves, sedimentary processes, and vegetation feedbacks. Positive biophysical feedbacks lead to the formation of vegetated coastal...