Exploring the Trends, the Science, and the Options of Buffer Management in the Great Bay Watershed

The US EPA recently designated New Hampshire’s Great Bay Estuary (GBE) as an impaired waterbody, which exhibits classic symptoms of nitrogen pollution. Sixty-eight percent of this nitrogen load originates from nonpoint sources including stormwater runoff, fertilizers, and septic systems—all of which could be mitigated through the coordinated use of buffer zones in the GBE region. Managing buffer zones wisely is also a recognized way of protecting (or avoiding) infrastructure in areas currently, or projected to be, impacted by sea level rise, coastal surge, and riverine flooding. This project is a partnership between a large number of organizations seeking better understanding of the natural and social dimensions of riparian buffer management. The goal is to enhance stakeholder capacity to make informed decisions related to the protection and restoration of buffers around GBE. In support of this goal, the project will conduct an Integrated Assessment focused on the following policy question: What are the potential regulatory and non-regulatory options for addressing the challenges to effectively protecting and restoring buffer zones around New Hampshire’s Great Bay? The project will explore the ecosystem functions, services, and associated values that arise from protecting buffers. To the extent possible, the team will quantify the benefits of retaining these services and map where they are likely to provide the greatest value. They will couple this watershed scale analysis with an assessment of the regulatory and social context of Great Bay communities. Marsh Institute researchers are leading the economic component of this interdisciplinary effort, applying cutting-edge methods in meta-analysis to predict the value of riparian buffer enhancements in the GBE region, based on a systematic review and analysis of prior studies in the ecosystem services literature. The project draws on Johnston and Bauer’s internationally recognized expertise in economic valuation and benefit transfer.