Estimating the Effect of Tidal Marsh Restoration on Housing Prices: A Hedonic Analysis in the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, Washington, USA

Abstract

This study employs the hedonic pricing method and a rich spatial and temporal dataset from two counties in Washington, USA to determine the effect of the 2009 Nisqually Restoration project (NRP) on housing prices in adjacent communities. The NRP restored 308 hectares of wetlands via dike removal in the Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge (NNWR), leading to improvements in salmon and bird abundance and recreational opportunities. We find that the ecological improvements made by the NRP increased the value of homes within 0.5 mile of the refuge by $37,631; homes 0.5 to 1 mile by $10,489; and homes 1 to 1.5 miles by $31,186. Our findings are consistent with previous wetland hedonic price analyses and may be useful inputs in natural resource management and policy decision-making.