Study Places Values on New Jersey’s Natural Assets

A recent report by economists commissioned by the New Jersey DEP attempts to put a dollar value on the state’s natural resources. 

According to the report, the Pine Barrens have an environmental value of about $1,476 per acre per year, based on their ability to provide the earth with water, animal habitat, and pollination. Beaches like Sandy Hook and Sea Girt, with their environmentally essential sand dunes, had the highest value per acre per year, about $42,000. New Jersey’s cities, which occupy more acreage than almost any other topography in the state, had no environmental value, except for parks, playgrounds and other occasional green spaces. Neither did the rest stops on the New Jersey Turnpike.

Wetlands in Florida, another recent study reported, are worth $11.3 billion each year, or about $3,190 per acre, just for storm protection. In New York, where wetlands are much scarcer, the total is $271 million, or about $20,691 per acre per year. Advocates of such studies of “natural capital” or “ecosystem services” call it a way to give greater legitimacy to environmental arguments, and make people realize more fully what they give up if they sacrifice nature. 

NYTimes, May 21, 2007 From Beaches to Pine Barrens, a Study Puts Values on New Jersey’s ...