SOCIOECONOMICS - Revision history

Cellsworth at 22:01, 8 September 2026

2026-09-08T22:01:00Z

Cellsworth at 21:59, 8 September 2026

2026-09-08T21:59:32Z

Cellsworth at 22:12, 3 September 2026

2026-09-03T22:12:52Z

Cellsworth at 22:04, 3 September 2026

2026-09-03T22:04:05Z

Cellsworth at 22:03, 3 September 2026

2026-09-03T22:03:00Z

Cellsworth at 21:55, 3 September 2026

2026-09-03T21:55:07Z

Cellsworth at 21:52, 3 September 2026

2026-09-03T21:52:38Z

Cellsworth at 21:51, 3 September 2026

2026-09-03T21:51:15Z

Cellsworth at 21:49, 3 September 2026

2026-09-03T21:49:57Z

Cellsworth at 21:47, 3 September 2026

2026-09-03T21:47:57Z

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-===Socioeconomics is the social science that studies how economic activity and social behavior shape and affect each other. ===
+===Socioeconomics ===
 ===Core Concepts===

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-'''Socioeconomics''' (also known as social economics) is the social science that studies how economic activity affects and is shaped by social processes. In general it analyzes how societies progress, stagnate, or regress because of their local or regional economy, or the global economy.
+===Socioeconomics is the social science that studies how economic activity and social behavior shape and affect each other. ===
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 *[http://gcdamp.com/index.php?title=GCDAMP_SEAHG_Page Socioeconomic Ad Hoc Group (SEAHG) Page]
 *[https://parkplanning.nps.gov/showFile.cfm?sfid=229953&projectID=39292 LTEMP EIS Appendix L: Socioeconomic Technical Information and Analysis]
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 *[http://gcdamp.com/index.php?title=GCDAMP_SEAHG_Page Socioeconomic Ad Hoc Group (SEAHG) Page]
 *[https://parkplanning.nps.gov/showFile.cfm?sfid=229953&projectID=39292 LTEMP EIS Appendix L: Socioeconomic Technical Information and Analysis]

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 ===Market Values===
-'''Water Supply:''' Delivers regulated freshwater storage in Lake Powell for municipal, industrial, and agricultural irrigation across the Southwest.
+'''Water Supply:''' Provides regulated freshwater storage for municipal, industrial, and agricultural irrigation across the Southwest.
 '''Hydropower Generation:''' Produces up to 1,320 megawatts of electricity from its eight generators to serve millions of residential and commercial customers.
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 ===Evolution: The LTEMP EIS (2016)===
-As the 1995 study aged, economists and resource managers questioned the "temporal stability" of those public values (whether people still cared as much 20 years later). [https://ltempeis.anl.gov/documents/docs/Colorado_River_Value_Study.pdf The Total Value Study:] In preparation for the Long-Term Experimental and Management Plan (LTEMP) EIS, the National Park Service funded an updated passive use valuation study.
+As the 1995 study aged, economists and resource managers questioned the "temporal stability" of those public values (whether people still cared as much 20 years later).
-Broadening the Scope: Unlike the 1995 study, which focused heavily on downstream riverine impacts, subsequent academic and federal research expanded to measure how the public values the broader basin. This included factoring in the external costs of reducing hydropower, such as regional power grid stability and carbon emissions from alternative energy sources.
+'''[https://ltempeis.anl.gov/documents/docs/Colorado_River_Value_Study.pdf The Total Value Study:]''' In preparation for the Long-Term Experimental and Management Plan (LTEMP) EIS, the National Park Service funded an updated passive use valuation study.
 ===Current Efforts & Ongoing Water Crisis===

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 '''Water Supply:''' Delivers regulated freshwater storage in Lake Powell for municipal, industrial, and agricultural irrigation across the Southwest.
-'''Hydropower Generation:''' Produces up to 1,320 megawatts of commercial electricity from its eight generators to serve millions of residential and commercial customers.
+'''Hydropower Generation:''' Produces up to 1,320 megawatts of electricity from its eight generators to serve millions of residential and commercial customers.
 '''System Regulation:''' Generates flexible peaking capacity that helps stabilize the regional electrical grid during high-demand periods.

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 '''The Post-2026 Operational Guidelines:''' With the 2007 Interim Guidelines expiring, the Bureau of Reclamation is actively designing a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) to rewrite the operating rules for Glen Canyon and Hoover Dams. Passive use valuation forms a core argument for environmental advocates pushing for structural modifications or steady-flow management to save endangered species like the humpback chub.
-'''Addressing the "Deadpool" Dilemma:''' Recent scientific and economic reviews assess the ultimate passive use trade-off: the value of avoiding systemic ecological collapse in the Grand Canyon versus the immense economic fallout if Lake Powell falls below its power-generating intakes ("deadpool").
+'''Addressing the "Minimum Power Pool" Dilemma:''' Recent scientific and economic reviews assess the ultimate passive use trade-off: the value of avoiding systemic ecological collapse in the Grand Canyon versus the immense economic fallout if Lake Powell falls below its power-generating intakes.
 *[https://www.usbr.gov/uc/progact/amp/amwg/2017-02-15-amwg-meeting/Attach_10a.pdf Jenkins-Smith et al. 2016. Estimating Non-Use Values for Alternative Operations of the Glen Canyon Dam: An Inclusive Value Approach Report ]

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-! <h2 style="margin:0; background:#cedff2; font-size:120%; font-weight:bold; border:1px solid #a3bfb1; text-align:left; color:#000; padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Updates</h2>
+! <h2 style="margin:0; background:#cedff2; font-size:120%; font-weight:bold; border:1px solid #a3bfb1; text-align:left; color:#000; padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Willingness to Pay Studies</h2>
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-−
-Glen Canyon Dam (GCD) on the Colorado River in northern Arizona provides water storage, flood control, and power system benefits to approximately 40 million people who rely on water and energy resources in the Colorado River basin. Downstream resources (e.g., angling, whitewater floating) in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (GCNRA) and Grand Canyon National Park are impacted by the operation of GCD. The GCD Adaptive Management Program was established in 1997 to monitor and research the effects of dam operations on the downstream environment. We utilized secondary survey data and an individual observation travel cost model to estimate the net economic benefit of angling in GCNRA for each season and each type of angler. As expected, the demand for angling decreased with increasing travel cost; the annual value of angling at Lees Ferry totaled US$2.7 million at 2014 visitation levels. Demand for angling was also affected by season, with per-trip values of $210 in the summer, $237 in the spring, $261 in the fall, and $399 in the winter. This information provides insight into the ways in which anglers are potentially impacted by seasonal GCD operations and adaptive management experiments aimed at improving downstream resource conditions.
-−
-|-
-! <h2 style="margin:0; background:#cedff2; font-size:120%; font-weight:bold; border:1px solid #a3b0bf; text-align:left; color:#000; padding:0.2em 0.4em;"> Willingness to Pay Studies </h2>
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 '''Quantified Willingness to Pay:''' Research published via ScienceDirect estimates the net non-market value of continuing current dam operations at roughly $2.15 per year per U.S. household, aggregating to $2.9 billion annually.
 *[https://www.usbr.gov/uc/progact/amp/twg/2015-04-21-twg-meeting/Attach_10b.pdf Loomis, 2014, Market and Non-Market Values of Water Resources and Non-Market Values of Hydropower Associated With Glen Canyon Dam: A Theoretical Framework and Literature Review]
 *[https://www.usbr.gov/uc/progact/amp/twg/2015-04-21-twg-meeting/Attach_10a.pdf Non-Market Values for Alternative Operation of the Glen Canyon Dam: Experiments in Choice and Valuation ]
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 *[https://www.usbr.gov/uc/progact/amp/amwg/2017-02-15-amwg-meeting/Attach_10b.pdf Jenkins-Smith et al. 2016. Estimating Non-Use Values for Alternative Operations of the Glen Canyon Dam: An Inclusive Value Approach Report II]
 *[https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212428416300056 Jones et al. 2016. Valuation in the Anthropocene: Exploring options for alternative operations of the Glen Canyon Dam. Water Resources and Economics]
 *[http://www.ecosystemvaluation.org/contingent_valuation.htm#case3 Ecosystem Valuation: Contingent Valuation Method]
 *[https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Glen-Canyon-Dam%2C-Colorado-River-Storage-Project%2C-Welsh-Bishop/fe14b65d7b9beb048d57ba86c4f1ebb92b114c08 Welsh, M., R. Bishop, M. Phillips, and R. Baumgartner, 1995, Glen Canyon Dam, Colorado River Storage Project, Arizona—Nonuse Value Study Final Report, Madison, Wisc.]

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 *[https://www.usgs.gov/data/grand-canyon-whitewater-boater-data-convergent-validity-between-willingness-pay-elicitation Neher et al., 2018, Exploring convergent validity between willingness to pay elicitation methods—An application to Grand Canyon whitewater boaters: Journal of Environmental Planning and Management]
 *[[Media:Neher 2017 Testing limits temporal stability GC boaters pay values.pdf| Neher et al., 2017, Testing the limits of temporal stability—Willingness to pay values among Grand Canyon whitewater boaters across decades. Water Resource Research]]
 *[https://files.cfc.umt.edu/cesu/NPS/UMT/2005/Duffield_White%20Paper_CO%20river.pdf Duffield. 2006. Economic Values of National Park System Resources Within the Colorado River Watershed. National Park Service ]
 *[http://www.riversimulator.org/Resources/GCMRC/Recreation/Stewart2000.pdf The 2000 Stewart Report: Preferences of Recreation User Groups of the Colorado River in Grand Canyon. ]