6 national wetlands newsletter R estoring degraded marine and coastal habitat is critical if America’s coasts and oceans are to reach their economic and ecological potential. Te National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has a num- ber of programs, including the Damage Assessment Remedia- tion and Restoration Program (DARRP), the Restoration Center (RC), and the Assessment and Restoration Division (ARD) that are dedicated to restoring coastal, estuarine, and marine habitats. NOAA works in partnership with other federal agencies, non- proft organizations, and state and local governments to identify and fund restoration projects around the country. NOAA’s restoration eforts focus on restoring the ecosystem functions of degraded and damaged habitats, and it uses biological and ecological metrics to measure the success of its activities—for example, the number of stream miles and acres restored. Applying additional emphasis to also documenting the economic benefts of habitat restoration will help in quantifying the additional val- ues of restoration, above and beyond the ecological values. Finding ways to determine the economic efects of resto- ration activities is a critical frst step in showing how restora- tion can improve the economic and overall societal well-being of the nation. A Blue Ribbon Panel for Estuary Economics Unlike the commercial fsheries arm of the National Marine Fish- eries Service, the Ofce of Science and Technology, restoration agencies have not historically collected systematic data on the eco- nomic outcomes associated with their activities. As a result, it is often difcult for NOAA’s restoration programs to argue convinc- ingly that their work has economic relevance. Because there has never been a systematic efort to col- lect data to measure and monitor the efects of coastal habitat restoration on economic value, in December 2009, Restore America’s Estuaries, in concert with NOAA, convened a blue ribbon panel (Table 1) of economists to consider approaches for collecting and analyzing data on the economic outcomes of selected restoration projects. Te panel was asked to pro- vide recommendations on what aspects of economic outcomes could be measured to best capture the economic value and impacts of restoration projects. Te panel also was asked to provide recommendations on how these outcomes could be measured and analyzed and what types of restoration projects NOAA might frst attempt to monitor for economic outcomes. While the recommendations within the report were developed Measuring and Monitoring the Economic Effects of Restoration: Recommendations From a Blue Ribbon Panel Te recent oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico has highlighted how important the region’s coasts are to the economy. Te National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has long been measuring the ecological successes of its marine and coastal restoration eforts, but a new panel ofers ideas on how to also measure the economic impact of restoration. By Linwood Pendleton and Suzanne Giles Simon Linwood Pendleton is the Director of Ocean and Coastal Policy at the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions at Duke University. Suzanne Giles Simon is the Strategic Projects Coordinator for Restore America’s Estuaries (RAE) and has more than 15 years of experience working on coastal, marine, and estuarine issues in the private, public, and non-proft sectors. RAE is a national nonproft organization established in 1995 working to protect and restore the vital habitats of our nation’s estuaries. Along with its 11 member organizations, RAE is dedicated to preserving the nation’s network of estuaries by protecting and restoring the lands and waters essential to the richness and diversity of coastal life. Reprinted by permission of the National Wetlands Newsletter. To subscribe call 800-433-5120, e-mail orders@eli.org, or visit wwwl.eli.org.