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Panel hears economic support work: restoration-economy analysis, carbon markets and housing-affordability modules
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Summary
Industrial Economics (IEC) outlined recent and planned economic analyses supporting implementation strategies: LIO studies on grant administration costs, a carbon-markets guidebook, green-stormwater tools comparison, a restoration-economy multiplier analysis, and add-on modules for future scenarios (housing affordability, environmental justice, restoration economy).
Mara Flight (Industrial Economics, IEC) briefed the science panel on two years of economic support work for Puget Sound Partnership implementation strategies and local implementing organizations.
IEC's recent projects include an analysis of grantee effort and the administrative cost of obtaining and managing grants (based on interviews and time-use data); a Carbon Markets Guidebook that summarizes participation options and feasibility for forest, agriculture and emerging blue-carbon projects; and a comparative review of green-stormwater-benefits tools to help local organizations select appropriate screening or scenario-comparison tools.
Mara also described ongoing and planned work for 2026: a restoration-economy analysis that quantifies regional jobs, output and value-added from restoration investments (applying IMPLAN-based spending profiles from more than 2,000 restoration projects), and socioeconomic modules developed as extensions to the Future Scenarios project (a housing-affordability hedonic model at the neighborhood/census-block-group scale; an environmental-justice module; agriculture/forestry and restoration-economy modules; and a salmon favorability index).
On federal and state funding, Puget Sound Partnership deputy director Larry Epstein told the panel the Governor's budget would cut the Partnership's Puget Sound scientific research line by $413,000 and reduce salaries/benefits by about $129,000; at the same time he noted Congress and the president approved appropriations that include a $2,000,000 increase to the EPA Puget Sound geographic program, bringing that program to $56,000,000, though how EPA will allocate the increase remains unclear.
IEC said their housing-affordability hedonic tool measures how different development patterns influence home values and affordability and that early results show concentrating growth in urban growth areas can worsen affordability in some areas, raising questions about mitigation and policy options. IEC plans LIO workshops, pilot studies and continued support for implementation strategies in 2026.
