Overview
Timmons Group was contracted by the University of Maryland in collaboration with the National Park Service (NPS) to create the Spatial Economic Decision Support Portal (SEDS). SEDS was created with two major goals: to support selection of sites and treatment options to cost-effectively manage non-native invasive species, and evaluate economic benefits of management options in terms of ecosystem services changes. The tool allows the user to generate and compare alternative plans for the management of non-native invasive plant species. Based on user choices, the application estimates costs, benefits and risks of alternative plans. Plans may then be compared based on cost-benefit ratios or cost-effectiveness that have been adjusted for risk of treatment success.
The economic benefits are calculated for six categories of ecosystem services:
- safety and aesthetics for trail users
- safety and aesthetics for through-drivers
- historical/cultural services
- wildlife viewing and artistic inspiration
- existence values for rare or characteristic species
- support of residential property values
