WildEarth Guardians

Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Study Finds Value in Roadless Forest Land

New Mexico's wilds don't have to be logged or developed to produce economic benefits
Contact: John Arnold Albuquerque Journal

New Mexico's wilds don't have to be logged or developed to produce economic benefits, according to a report issued Monday by a Santa Fe-based environmental group.

The study was commissioned by WildEarth Guardians and prepared by the Center for Sustainable Economy. It says that the state's 1.6 million acres of roadless national forest land and more than 100,000 acres in northern New Mexico's Valle Vidal generate tens of millions of dollars a year, including economic benefits derived from clean water, carbon dioxide-absorbing forests and outdoor recreation.

Federal, state and local governments typically assume that natural areas are only economically valuable when used for logging, grazing, oil and gas drilling and other development, according to John Talberth, the report's lead author and a senior economist with the Santa Fe-based Center for Sustainable Economy.

Such assumptions lead to "biased decision-making that favors development over preservation," Talberth said Monday.

According to the peer-reviewed report, economic benefits generated by the state's roadless areas include:

* $42 million in water quality benefits derived from the 530,000 acre feet of clean water that flows from roadless lands each year; * $22 million to $24 million associated with the absorption of carbon dioxide that would otherwise remain in the atmosphere and exacerbate global warming; * $27 million generated by non-motorized recreational use.

Local economies and property values also benefit from the protection of roadless areas, according to the study.

Talberth said his research team, which included three University of New Mexico economists, used "a wide range of techniques" to quantify the economic value of the roadless areas.

In some cases, the researchers simply estimated the value of non-timber commodities, such as mushrooms and piñon nuts. They attempted to measure what hunters, anglers and other recreationists might be willing to pay for the protection of the land they use, Talberth said.

For less tangible benefits, like water quality, researchers considered what it would cost to replace valuable natural processes. For example, they looked at the cost of replacing an area's natural water filtration system with a technological substitute, like a water filtration plant, Talberth said.

Environmentalists say the report supports their argument that the inventoried roadless areas in national forests should be permanently protected.

The state has petitioned the Bush administration for protection of all roadless national forest land in the state, as well as the Valle Vidal.

"This data helps us significantly as we make our arguments on why we should maintain roadless areas in New Mexico," said Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Secretary Joanna Prukop.

But how the state will proceed with its petition is unclear, following last week's decision by a federal judge to reinstate a Clinton-era ban on road building in inventoried roadless areas.

The Bush administration had replaced the so-called "Roadless Rule" with a process that requires states to petition the federal government for roadless area protection.

The economic report released Monday is available on the Center for Sustainable Economy Web site: www.sustainable-economy.org.

Copyright 2006 Albuquerque Journal - Reprinted with permission