Ecosystem Services

In the Tulare Basin and throughout California and the world, society is confronted with a daunting array of trade-offs between its everyday wants and needs as consumers and its ongoing quest for a high quality of life. Each day we face complex questions for an ever-growing population: Where will we grow our food, put our industries, and house our citizens? Where will we find safe, healthful places to recreate, learn, or seek relaxation and rejuvenation? How will we maintain clean air and water and ensure a livable environment for our children and grandchildren?

The residents, ranchers, farmers, and businesses of the Tulare Basin all grapple with these questions as they work to address challenges unique to this part of central California. Poor air quality affects agricultural productivity and the health of people living and working here. There are many days when the air, which ranks as some of the worst in the nation, is unsafe to breathe. Residents in some Tulare Basin communities are concerned about access to adequate supplies of clean drinking water. Contamination from naturally-occurring soil elements, such as arsenic, agricultural chemicals, and industrial sources, also threaten water quality here.

Climate change in this already sun-baked locale includes increasing temperatures as well as changing precipitation patterns with more rain and less snow. In the Tulare Basin, agricultural practices have evolved with the expectation that winter snowfall in Sierra Nevada will provide water for summer irrigation. Changing precipitation trends, with increased rain and runoff, bring additional concerns for flood control, groundwater storage, and other water supply issues. In some places, marginal or unproductive soils mean taking additional farmland out of production as it becomes unsuitable for growing crops to support the needs of a growing population.

Measuring Ecosystem Services
The dollar value attached to the goods and services we use means that we make conscious decisions about where we spend our money. But, how does one measure the value of nature's services? For the most part, the intangible benefits provided by ecosystems are not traded in formal markets, so with no dollar value attached, we are likely to ignore or be unaware of changes in their supply or condition. As a result, society greatly undervalues and tends to take for granted the goods and services provided by natural ecosystems.

How do you measure the financial impact of climate change, air and water quality, soil fertility, pest control, pollinators, or ecosystem functioning? What is the dollar value of the ecosystem services that provide life-support functions, such as cleansing air and water, recycling natural resources, or renewing soil fertility? How do you measure the intangible, aesthetic, or cultural benefits conferred by nature? By thinking about what we use from the environment, i.e. ecosystem goods, we begin to attach a dollar value to forage for livestock and wildlife, timber, biomass fuels, natural fiber, pharmaceuticals, industrial products, and other items we use in everyday life.

Solutions for the Future
Through the Tulare Basin Regional Conservation Plan, the Tulare Basin Wildlife Partners propose ambitious goals for conserving and restoring land and water by using solutions that integrate and balance sustainable natural systems with agricultural productivity and a sound, vibrant economy. Most importantly, these solutions address some of today's most pressing environmental concerns and provide benefits to residents, farmers, ranchers, political leaders, and others with a stake in the Tulare Basin's future.

Protecting existing natural habitat and wildlife travel corridors, encouraging wildlife-friendly agriculture, and restoring areas that no longer provide economic benefit from agriculture or resource extraction does much more than ensure the survival of the plants and animals that depend on this special place. These measures help guarantee our own survival. Important strategies for maintaining and restoring ecosystem services in the Tulare Basin include re-establishing and sustaining wetlands, restoring upland areas, and aiding in the recovery of threatened or endangered wildlife species. Conserving and restoring wetland and upland habitats provides critical ecosystem services, such as:

• Purifying and filtering water
• Cleansing the air
• Providing flood control, flood water storage, and groundwater recharge areas
• Mitigating droughts
• Detoxifying and decomposing waste
• Generating and renewing soil and soil fertility
• Pollinating crops
• Controlling agricultural pests
• Dispersing seeds and nutrients for natural vegetation
• Maintaining the biodiversity upon which we depend for key elements to support agricultural, medical, or industrial needs
• Shielding the earth's residents from the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays
• Stabilizing the climate to help mitigate global warming, moderate temperature extremes, and regulate the force of winds
• Providing aesthetic beauty, intellectual stimulation, and rejuvenation of the human spirit

The large-scale environmental challenges we face in the Tulare Basin, coupled with current land and water management concerns, demand a long-term perspective to ensure the survival of the people, plants, and animals who live in this special place. The Tulare Basin Wildlife Partners, together with its strategic network of partners in the Tulare Basin Working Group, provides this long-term perspective and much-needed solutions aimed at restoring and sustaining the Tulare Basin's important ecosystem services.