Abstract:
The Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (OWEB) has proposed nearly $40 million in watershed restoration
projects for state and federal stimulus funding. OWEB’s investments in ecological restoration
play a large role in public and private natural resource management with projects ranging from stream habitat
enhancements and fish passage to irrigation canal improvements, riparian reforestation, road decommissioning,
forest thinning, and wildlife habitat enhancement. As with other capital improvements, watershed restoration
activities such as those that OWEB is proposing have considerable economic impact and job creation
potential. Unlike other sectors of the economy, such as transportation infrastructure, there has been little
research to quantify the economic potential of these activities. In this briefing paper, we provide a preliminary
assessment of the potential economic and employment impacts for watershed restoration activities.