The contractor will lead the development of an actionable report that synthesizes economic and systems frameworks and recommends best practices for the design of payment based incentives to private landowners to expedite voluntary riparian conservation supported by public funds. The actionable report should address the economic valuation of riparian zones, considering both landowner values of private lands within riparian zones (e.g., “supply side” economics; willingness to pay and/or commodity values) and the ecosystem services provided to society by riparian zones (e.g., “demand side” economics; ecosystem functions services with a public benefit). The SCC will use the report to craft and guide conservation project solicitations. The lessons gleaned from the report will be utilized by future project applicants and reviewers for specific watersheds in Puget Sound. The report will include an applicable literature and policy review, development of an economic incentive model toolbox, as well as recommendations for identifying and overcoming challenges involved in building stakeholder support for the use of modeling and decision support tools (including optimization) in evaluating and prioritizing investments in Puget Sound watersheds. The report does not need to include primary research. The contract will follow all state and federal procurement standards. A draft report is due August 1, 2025. The final report is due by August 30, 2025.
