BLM contributes to White House Frontiers of Benefit-Cost Analysis

On May 28, 2024, the White House National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Subcommittee on Frontiers of Benefit-Cost Analysis (SFBCA) Ecosystem Services Interagency Working Group convened an in-person workshop to gather researchers and federal agency staff.  

During this meeting, the group shared information on priorities for policy-relevant research on ecosystem services effects and valuation for benefit-cost analysis. Ecosystem services were identified as one of the focal topics in SFBCA’s Inaugural Report on Advancing the Frontiers of Benefit-Cost Analysis: Federal Priorities and Directions for Future Research (December 2023). 

Ecosystem services are the benefits to human societies (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005) in the forms of provisioning ecosystem services (such as food, fresh water, wood), regulating services (such as flood control, disease control, water purification), cultural services (such as aesthetic, educational, recreational benefits), and supporting services (such as nutrient cycling, soil formation, and primary production). 

Organized by the staff from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the Department of the Interior (DOI), the workshop was held in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, DC, and attended by technical experts and leading academic researchers. 

Federal agency representatives came from the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), and the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, and the Interior. Academic researchers came from Clark and Yale Universities, Colorado State University, and the universities of California, Minnesota, Vermont, and West Virginia, as well as the World Bank. 

BLM Sun-Zone Socioeconomic Specialist Dr. Hebin Lin contributed to the workshop as a member of the planning committee and as a facilitator of the on-site discussions. The workshop started with a welcome from OSTP Deputy Director for Climate and Environment Dr. Jane Lubchenco, followed by knowledge-sharing sessions with federal staff and academic researchers.  

The first session focused on key aspects of policy making, including agencies’ primary regulatory contexts, prevalent ecosystem services affected by agency work, and limitations on quantifying or monetizing ecosystem services effects.  

The second session focused on research applications and methods, opportunities to meet the needs of federal agencies, and disconnects between agency needs and research interests.  

In the afternoon, three small groups were formed to work through hypothetical benefit-cost analysis scenarios, including a coastal community scenario, a rural forest scenario, and an urban river scenario. In the final session of the day, the groups presented their insights on policy-relevant research priorities in ecosystem services quantification and valuation for benefit-cost analysis.  

Regarding BLM’s contribution, the SFBCA Interagency Working Group on Ecosystem Services Co-Chairs Dr. Emily Pindilli from OSTP and Dr. Christian Crowley from DOI Office of Policy Analysis commented, “Thank you for all of your efforts in planning and contributing to the workshop content. We couldn’t have had an event without you all! And, to pack so much content into one day is very impressive.” 

The workshop also was a milestone for the Ecosystem Services Interagency Working Group established by the SFBCA in January 2024 as one of three groups focused on advancing the state of the science for specific areas identified in SFBCA’s 2023 Inaugural Report. 

The insights from the workshop formed a key component on the topic of ecosystem services in the SFBCA’s 2024 Annual Report (October 2024) which was launched at a White House Virtual Roundtable. The BLM’s Dr. Lin and speakers from the U.S. Forest Service and Resource for the Future shared remarks on building awareness, developing partnerships, and advancing scientific knowledge for the Frontiers. 

The Frontiers of BCA support implementation of recent policy guidance from the White House under the broad context of Modernizing Regulatory Review (January 2021), including OMB’s Circular A-4 on Regulatory Analysis (November 2023), OMB’s Circular A-94 on Guidelines and Discount Rates for Benefit-Cost Analysis of Federal Programs (November 2023), and OMB’s Guidance for Assessing Changes in Environmental and Ecosystem Services in Benefit-Cost Analysis (February 2024).