Incorporating Ecosystem Services Into Economic Assessments of Restoration Projects

On the Ground Rangeland restoration projects have defied quantitative economic assessment because of a lack of data and information that document benefits. From the literature, we assess the potential benefits of rangeland restoration efforts undertaken in New Mexico under the Restore New Mexico Project and conclude that the economic value of some of the goods and services generated are substantial, but little economic value exists for some of the ecosystem services used to justify the conservation effort. Given the complexity in measuring changes in ecosystem services following restoration efforts, we are pessimistic about the potential of placing a quantitative economic value on many rangeland ecosystem services. Identifying the expected direction of change and relative magnitude of change may be more useful and feasible.