| MMS ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES PROGRAM: ONGOING STUDIES | ||||||
| MMS OCS Region: | Pacific | |||||
| Title: | Southern California Coastal Recreation Inventory and Valuation (PC-99-01) | |||||
| Actual Costs: | $100,000 | Period of Performance: | FY 2000 - 2005 | |||
| Conducting Organization: | University of California, Berkley-Berkeley, CA (Contact: Michael Hanneman) | |||||
| MMS Contact: | Dr. Fred Piltz | |||||
| Description: | ||||||
| Background | ||||||
Potential effects to coastal recreation from
energy development in the OCS and state waters may occur in three ways.
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| Yet, offshore energy operations are not the only factors that potentially affect coastal recreation. For example, the changing physical characteristics of the beach through beach erosion, water quality degradation from non-point sources and changing consumer preferences may also lead to short-term and long-term changes in use patterns. Whatever the cause, changes in coastal tourism and recreation patterns may have very pronounced and localized effects on communities. | ||||||
| Currently, the State of California is developing a general model for valuing beach recreation based on a study of Los Angeles and Orange Counties, California (hereafter referred to as the LAOC study). That effort is accomplished through a cooperative agreement between a number of state and federal agencies. The culmination of the LAOC study is a system for the use by State Water Resources Control Board staff and other state agencies to estimate the public value of any beach in the region using attributes of that particular beach. | ||||||
| Objectives | ||||||
| To enhance the state’s system by extending it to the Tri-counties (Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo), replicating the methodology, to the extent possible, used in LAOC study. The study is designed to create a computer program that estimates the value of beach recreation for a given location and how this value may be affected by characteristics of the location. These characteristics encompass a number of factors such as recreational opportunities (water-dependant and water-enhanced) at the site, the amenities (parking, concessions, lifeguard services), physical characteristics of the site (water quality, proximity to industrial facilities, beach erosion), distance from the urban areas, and other factors. This value can then be used to accurately estimate the potential impacts when a site is affected by a number of sources, including those from offshore oil and gas activities | ||||||
| Methods | ||||||
| A benefits transfer analyses will be performed to extend the data and models developed for Orange and Los Angeles Counties to the Tri-county area. | ||||||
| Importance to MMS | ||||||
| The topic was identified in the National Research Council’s "Assessment of the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf Environmental Studies Program" (1992). In the next few years, the region will require this information to support a number of decisions. The proposed study is a regional level analysis baseline study which provides the very detailed information needed for future development and production decisions. Also, the resource-use and mitigation aspects of the study provide the highly detailed information needed for the entire range of OCS decisions. (See Table I--Social Science Data Needs for OCS Decision Points in the Final Draft of "Applied Social Science in: A Framework for Decisionmaking.") Moreover, the study will suggest mitigation measures which can be applied throughout the entire range of OCS decision making. The methodology analysis will ensure that the MMS uses the most valid and reliable method for a given set of circumstances. | ||||||
| Current Status: | ||||||
| This study is completed with the exception of a final synthesis report. The results are posted on the following web site and are broadly available. http://marineeconomics.noaa.gov/SCBeach/laobeach1.html#reports | ||||||
| Final Report Due: | 11/30/2006 | |||||
| Publications: | None at this time. | |||||
| Affiliated WWW Sites: | Social Science in MMS information page. | |||||
| Revised date: | November 30, 2006 | |||||
| ESPIS |
ESPIS - All completed
ESP Studies: |
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