by Shawn Regan
Todd Gartner, a 2007 Enviropreneur Institute alum, describes how economic incentives can be used to connect U.S. forests, water, and communities in an essay at the World Resources Institute.
Todd discusses his work with WRI on two pilot projects that are connecting the buyers of ecosystem services with the sellers of the services. Among other things, these projects hope to invest in forests along the Crooked River in Maine, which currently act as a natural filter for the water supply to the city of Portland. For more, see this podcast with Todd or this PERC Policy Series on ecosystem services.