Emily J Pindilli, Ph.D.
Dr. Emily Pindilli is the Director and Chief Economist of the Science and Decisions Center at the U.S. Geological Survey in Reston, Virginia.
Since joining USGS in 2012, she focuses on a diverse portfolio of environmental and informational economics research topics including: the value of scientific data; ecosystem services assessment and valuation; methods to integrate multi-disciplinary analyses to support land use decision-making; lifecycle analyses of resource development and conservation; and environmental markets. Dr. Pindilli is highly interested in innovative approaches to non-market valuation and using economics as a framework to conduct integrated analyses.
Recently, Dr. Pindilli completed a primer on biodiversity and habitat markets (see here). She is currently pursuing research on quantification tools and enabling information to support biodiversity and habitat markets. Dr. Pindilli has ongoing work looking at the value of the USGS streamgage network. This includes considering the users and benefits of streamflow information for engineering, recreation, and water consumption. She is the leading economist on a project assessing the ecosystem services and values associated with the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge which includes the analysis of recreation, carbon sequestration, wildfire mitigation, and flood avoidance (see here). She is conducting similar work at the Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge. She is a co-PI for a study on the Chesapeake Bay watershed focusing on floodplain ecosystem services and recently initiated similar work for the Delaware River Watershed. She is working with other USGS scientists to advance the development of the Multi-Resource Analysis. Dr. Pindilli's graduate research included an economic analysis of the costs of agricultural best management practices and the potential for nutrient trading in the Chesapeake Bay watershed (see here). Her work is focused on integrated ecologic-economic analyses and incorporating the social and earth sciences into decision-making.
Prior to joining USGS, Dr. Pindilli conducted similar work in the private sector. She spent a number of years focused on conventional and unconventional energy development, economics, and environmental impacts including the evaluation of U.S. reliance on oil imports, compatibility of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and policy analysis of oil shale and other unconventional fuels. Dr. Pindilli provided economic and environmental science analytical support for the Interagency Task Force on Strategic Unconventional Fuels. She also worked on projects related to the sustainability of biofuels, solar and wind power generation issues, and shale gas regulatory issues.
Science and Products
Recreational Birdwatching and Habitat
Fisheries and Fish Habitat
Marsh Elevation Change and Carbon Sequestration
An Ecosystem Services Assessment of the Nisqually River Delta, South Puget Sound, Washington
Science to Inform the Management of Mangrove Ecosystems Undergoing Sea Level Rise at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge, Sanibel Island, Florida
Assessing the Benefits and Vulnerability of Current and Future Potential Ecosystem Services of the Nisqually River Delta and other Puget Sound Estuaries
Quantifying Floodplain Ecological Processes and Ecosystem Services in the Delaware River Watershed
Restoration and Conservation Opportunity Maps for the conterminous U.S. (CONUS)
Database of Biodiversity, Habitat, and Aquatic Resource Quantification Tools Used for Market-based Conservation in the United States (ver. 2.0, June 2022)
The Mississippi Alluvial Plain Aquifers: An Engine for Economic Activity - Data
Birdwatching preferences reveal synergies and tradeoffs among recreation, carbon, and fisheries ecosystem services in Pacific Northwest estuaries, USA
Interdisciplinary science approach for harmful algal blooms (HABs) and algal toxins—A strategic science vision for the U.S. Geological Survey
Societal benefits of floodplains in the Chesapeake Bay and Delaware River watersheds: Sediment, nutrient, and flood regulation ecosystem services
Floodplains provide critical ecosystem services to people by regulating floodwaters and retaining sediments and nutrients. Geospatial analyses, field data collection, and modeling were integrated to quantify a portfolio of services that floodplains provide to downstream communities within the Chesapeake Bay and Delaware River watersheds. The portfolio of services included floodplain sediment and n
The value of scientific information — An overview
Estimating the effect of tidal marsh restoration on housing prices: A hedonic analysis in the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, Washington, USA
What’s It worth? Estimating the potential value of early warnings of cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms for managing freshwater reservoirs in Kansas, United States
Cyanobacterial blooms are an issue drawing increasing concern in freshwater lakes and reservoirs in the United States due to the real and sometimes perceived harms they can cause through cyanotoxin production or other effects. These types of blooms are often referred to as cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (cyanoHABs). Cyanotoxin exposure can potentially lead to human health effects through recr
Farmer behavior under groundwater management scenarios: Implications for groundwater conservation in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain
Supporting natural resource-management decisions — The role of economics at the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) — 2018 DOI Economics Training Workshop
Economic valuation of health benefits from using geologic data to communicate radon risk potential
Sustaining Environmental Capital Initiative summary report
Multi-resource analysis: A proof of concept study of natural resource tradeoffs in the Piceance Basin, Colorado, using the net resources assessment (NetRA) decision support tool
Employing an ecosystem services framework to deliver decision ready science
Non-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
Science and Products
Recreational Birdwatching and Habitat
Fisheries and Fish Habitat
Marsh Elevation Change and Carbon Sequestration
An Ecosystem Services Assessment of the Nisqually River Delta, South Puget Sound, Washington
Science to Inform the Management of Mangrove Ecosystems Undergoing Sea Level Rise at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge, Sanibel Island, Florida
Assessing the Benefits and Vulnerability of Current and Future Potential Ecosystem Services of the Nisqually River Delta and other Puget Sound Estuaries
Quantifying Floodplain Ecological Processes and Ecosystem Services in the Delaware River Watershed
Restoration and Conservation Opportunity Maps for the conterminous U.S. (CONUS)
Database of Biodiversity, Habitat, and Aquatic Resource Quantification Tools Used for Market-based Conservation in the United States (ver. 2.0, June 2022)
The Mississippi Alluvial Plain Aquifers: An Engine for Economic Activity - Data
Birdwatching preferences reveal synergies and tradeoffs among recreation, carbon, and fisheries ecosystem services in Pacific Northwest estuaries, USA
Interdisciplinary science approach for harmful algal blooms (HABs) and algal toxins—A strategic science vision for the U.S. Geological Survey
Societal benefits of floodplains in the Chesapeake Bay and Delaware River watersheds: Sediment, nutrient, and flood regulation ecosystem services
Floodplains provide critical ecosystem services to people by regulating floodwaters and retaining sediments and nutrients. Geospatial analyses, field data collection, and modeling were integrated to quantify a portfolio of services that floodplains provide to downstream communities within the Chesapeake Bay and Delaware River watersheds. The portfolio of services included floodplain sediment and n
The value of scientific information — An overview
Estimating the effect of tidal marsh restoration on housing prices: A hedonic analysis in the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, Washington, USA
What’s It worth? Estimating the potential value of early warnings of cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms for managing freshwater reservoirs in Kansas, United States
Cyanobacterial blooms are an issue drawing increasing concern in freshwater lakes and reservoirs in the United States due to the real and sometimes perceived harms they can cause through cyanotoxin production or other effects. These types of blooms are often referred to as cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (cyanoHABs). Cyanotoxin exposure can potentially lead to human health effects through recr
Farmer behavior under groundwater management scenarios: Implications for groundwater conservation in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain
Supporting natural resource-management decisions — The role of economics at the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) — 2018 DOI Economics Training Workshop
Economic valuation of health benefits from using geologic data to communicate radon risk potential
Sustaining Environmental Capital Initiative summary report
Multi-resource analysis: A proof of concept study of natural resource tradeoffs in the Piceance Basin, Colorado, using the net resources assessment (NetRA) decision support tool
Employing an ecosystem services framework to deliver decision ready science
Non-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.