Aaron J Enriquez, PhD (Former Employee)
Science and Products
Economics of Outdoor Recreation
Planning and managing outdoor recreation on public land and water entails a series of choices, many of which are economic in nature. Economics is useful for informing a wide range of decision-making processes in the context of outdoor recreation management, including why people choose to engage in recreation and where, how people substitute between different types of recreation activities and...
Wildlife Economics
Wildlife economics can help us better understand, and sometimes even quantify, the various relationships between humans and wildlife species. On one hand, humans benefit significantly from wildlife, for example through activities like hunting, fishing, and wildlife viewing, or through the conservation of threatened and endangered species. On the other hand, wildlife can also impose substantial...
Economic Impacts of Public Lands Management
Federal investments in land management projects protect Federal trusts, ensure public health and safety, and preserve and enhance the benefits provided by ecosystems to people. These investments also generate business activity and create jobs. However, limited information often exists on the costs and associated economic impacts of public land management activities.
Social and Economic Analysis (SEA) Branch
The Social and Economic Analysis (SEA) branch is an interdisciplinary group of scientists whose primary functions are to conduct both theoretical and applied social science research, provide technical assistance, and offer training to support the development of skills in natural resource management activities.
Environmental and Natural Resource Economics
Federal land managers are accountable to the public for how they use public resources and for the outcomes of management decisions. Through a variety of economic analyses and custom modeling, SEA economists evaluate how investments and management decisions affect individuals, local communities, and society as a whole.
Related News: How much is that grizzly in the window?
Related News: How much is that grizzly in the window?
Related News: Wild about wildlife: leveraging park visitor support for conservation
Related News: Wild about wildlife: leveraging park visitor support for conservation
Are mobile device location data a substitute for travel cost surveys? Are mobile device location data a substitute for travel cost surveys?
Mobile device location data offer a low-cost alternative for measuring visitation to outdoor recreation sites and are known to correlate with official visitation counts. Less is known about whether these data can recover recreation demand and consumer surplus comparable to surveybased methods. We compare travel cost models estimated using mobile device and survey data for 17 U.S...
Authors
Jude Bayham, Aaron Joey Enriquez, Leslie Richardson
Scoping decision-maker needs and science availability to support regional natural capital accounting in the U.S. Colorado River Basin Scoping decision-maker needs and science availability to support regional natural capital accounting in the U.S. Colorado River Basin
Natural capital accounting has the potential to yield important policy insights at multiple scales, but there remains a disconnect between regional-scale natural capital accounts and their use for informing policy. In this paper, we propose a roadmap that could lead to the creation of policy-relevant regional accounts, with steps split across an initial scoping phase and a subsequent...
Authors
Aaron Joey Enriquez, Kenneth J. Bagstad, Katharine G. Dahm, Alicia A. Torregrosa, Rudy Schuster
Tradeoffs and win-wins between large landscape conservation and wildlife viewing in protected areas Tradeoffs and win-wins between large landscape conservation and wildlife viewing in protected areas
Wildlife conservation around protected areas is critical and costly, yet its beneficiaries—particularly protected area visitors who enjoy viewing wide-ranging wildlife—rarely contribute towards landscape-scale conservation. We characterize the importance of wildlife viewing in two U.S. protected areas: Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. We surveyed park visitors (N = 991) and...
Authors
Hilary Byerly Flint, Aaron Joey Enriquez, Drew Bennett, Leslie Richardson, Arthur Middleton
Urban tick exposure on Staten Island is higher in pet owners Urban tick exposure on Staten Island is higher in pet owners
Over the past decade, Lyme and other tick-borne diseases have expanded into urban areas, including Staten Island, New York. While Lyme disease is often researched with a focus on human risk, domestic pets are also at risk of contracting the disease. The present study aims to describe differences in tick exposure, knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) between pet owners and non-owners...
Authors
Noriko Tamari, Kacey C. Ernst, Aaron Joey Enriquez, Maria A. Diuk-Wasser, Maria P. Fernandez, Kevin Berry, Mary H. Hayden
Simple stated preference questions can enhance transdisciplinary projects: Linking perceived risks with willingness to spray and pay Simple stated preference questions can enhance transdisciplinary projects: Linking perceived risks with willingness to spray and pay
Transdisciplinary projects can uncover crucial insights on people’s past and future risk-mitigation behavior. We focus on a novel risk context: increasing health threats from ticks on Staten Island, a New York City borough where the combination of high population density and extensive park systems and green spaces has resulted in a rise in locally-acquired tick-transmitted disease cases...
Authors
Aaron Joey Enriquez, Kevin Berry, Maria del Pilar Fernandez, Nichar Gregory, Kacey C. Ernst, Mary H. Hayden, Maria A. Diuk-Wasser
Valuing wildlife sightings at the species-wide and individual animal levels: An approach and application to bear viewing in Yellowstone National Park Valuing wildlife sightings at the species-wide and individual animal levels: An approach and application to bear viewing in Yellowstone National Park
Wildlife viewing is a popular recreation activity in parks and protected areas around the world, yet information on the nonmarket value that visitors derive from viewing specific species, and how that value is affected by small-scale population changes, is lacking. We devised an approach to fill the gap. First, we applied the travel cost method to obtain the value of a wildlife viewing...
Authors
Leslie Richardson, Aaron Joey Enriquez
Non-USGS Publications**
Enriquez, A.J., and D.C. Finnoff. 2021. Managing mortality of multi-use megafauna. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 107: 102441. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeem.2021.102441
Bagdonas, D.A., Enriquez, A.J., Coddington, K.A., Finnoff, D.C., McLaughlin, J.F., Bazilian, M.D., Phillips, E.H., and T.L. McLing. 2022. Rare earth element resource evaluation of coal byproducts: A case study from the Powder River Basin, Wyoming. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 158: 112148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2022.112148
Ernst, K.C., Fernandez, M.P., Diuk-Wasser, M., Enriquez, A.J., Berry, K., and M.H. Hayden. 2024. Contrasting perceptions, knowledge, and actions around Lyme disease in an urban area of emerging Lyme disease and an area of endemic Lyme disease in the Northeastern United States. The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 111(4): 865–879, https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.24-0035
**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
Economics of Outdoor Recreation
Planning and managing outdoor recreation on public land and water entails a series of choices, many of which are economic in nature. Economics is useful for informing a wide range of decision-making processes in the context of outdoor recreation management, including why people choose to engage in recreation and where, how people substitute between different types of recreation activities and...
Wildlife Economics
Wildlife economics can help us better understand, and sometimes even quantify, the various relationships between humans and wildlife species. On one hand, humans benefit significantly from wildlife, for example through activities like hunting, fishing, and wildlife viewing, or through the conservation of threatened and endangered species. On the other hand, wildlife can also impose substantial...
Economic Impacts of Public Lands Management
Federal investments in land management projects protect Federal trusts, ensure public health and safety, and preserve and enhance the benefits provided by ecosystems to people. These investments also generate business activity and create jobs. However, limited information often exists on the costs and associated economic impacts of public land management activities.
Social and Economic Analysis (SEA) Branch
The Social and Economic Analysis (SEA) branch is an interdisciplinary group of scientists whose primary functions are to conduct both theoretical and applied social science research, provide technical assistance, and offer training to support the development of skills in natural resource management activities.
Environmental and Natural Resource Economics
Federal land managers are accountable to the public for how they use public resources and for the outcomes of management decisions. Through a variety of economic analyses and custom modeling, SEA economists evaluate how investments and management decisions affect individuals, local communities, and society as a whole.
Related News: How much is that grizzly in the window?
Related News: How much is that grizzly in the window?
Related News: Wild about wildlife: leveraging park visitor support for conservation
Related News: Wild about wildlife: leveraging park visitor support for conservation
Are mobile device location data a substitute for travel cost surveys? Are mobile device location data a substitute for travel cost surveys?
Mobile device location data offer a low-cost alternative for measuring visitation to outdoor recreation sites and are known to correlate with official visitation counts. Less is known about whether these data can recover recreation demand and consumer surplus comparable to surveybased methods. We compare travel cost models estimated using mobile device and survey data for 17 U.S...
Authors
Jude Bayham, Aaron Joey Enriquez, Leslie Richardson
Scoping decision-maker needs and science availability to support regional natural capital accounting in the U.S. Colorado River Basin Scoping decision-maker needs and science availability to support regional natural capital accounting in the U.S. Colorado River Basin
Natural capital accounting has the potential to yield important policy insights at multiple scales, but there remains a disconnect between regional-scale natural capital accounts and their use for informing policy. In this paper, we propose a roadmap that could lead to the creation of policy-relevant regional accounts, with steps split across an initial scoping phase and a subsequent...
Authors
Aaron Joey Enriquez, Kenneth J. Bagstad, Katharine G. Dahm, Alicia A. Torregrosa, Rudy Schuster
Tradeoffs and win-wins between large landscape conservation and wildlife viewing in protected areas Tradeoffs and win-wins between large landscape conservation and wildlife viewing in protected areas
Wildlife conservation around protected areas is critical and costly, yet its beneficiaries—particularly protected area visitors who enjoy viewing wide-ranging wildlife—rarely contribute towards landscape-scale conservation. We characterize the importance of wildlife viewing in two U.S. protected areas: Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. We surveyed park visitors (N = 991) and...
Authors
Hilary Byerly Flint, Aaron Joey Enriquez, Drew Bennett, Leslie Richardson, Arthur Middleton
Urban tick exposure on Staten Island is higher in pet owners Urban tick exposure on Staten Island is higher in pet owners
Over the past decade, Lyme and other tick-borne diseases have expanded into urban areas, including Staten Island, New York. While Lyme disease is often researched with a focus on human risk, domestic pets are also at risk of contracting the disease. The present study aims to describe differences in tick exposure, knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) between pet owners and non-owners...
Authors
Noriko Tamari, Kacey C. Ernst, Aaron Joey Enriquez, Maria A. Diuk-Wasser, Maria P. Fernandez, Kevin Berry, Mary H. Hayden
Simple stated preference questions can enhance transdisciplinary projects: Linking perceived risks with willingness to spray and pay Simple stated preference questions can enhance transdisciplinary projects: Linking perceived risks with willingness to spray and pay
Transdisciplinary projects can uncover crucial insights on people’s past and future risk-mitigation behavior. We focus on a novel risk context: increasing health threats from ticks on Staten Island, a New York City borough where the combination of high population density and extensive park systems and green spaces has resulted in a rise in locally-acquired tick-transmitted disease cases...
Authors
Aaron Joey Enriquez, Kevin Berry, Maria del Pilar Fernandez, Nichar Gregory, Kacey C. Ernst, Mary H. Hayden, Maria A. Diuk-Wasser
Valuing wildlife sightings at the species-wide and individual animal levels: An approach and application to bear viewing in Yellowstone National Park Valuing wildlife sightings at the species-wide and individual animal levels: An approach and application to bear viewing in Yellowstone National Park
Wildlife viewing is a popular recreation activity in parks and protected areas around the world, yet information on the nonmarket value that visitors derive from viewing specific species, and how that value is affected by small-scale population changes, is lacking. We devised an approach to fill the gap. First, we applied the travel cost method to obtain the value of a wildlife viewing...
Authors
Leslie Richardson, Aaron Joey Enriquez
Non-USGS Publications**
Enriquez, A.J., and D.C. Finnoff. 2021. Managing mortality of multi-use megafauna. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 107: 102441. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeem.2021.102441
Bagdonas, D.A., Enriquez, A.J., Coddington, K.A., Finnoff, D.C., McLaughlin, J.F., Bazilian, M.D., Phillips, E.H., and T.L. McLing. 2022. Rare earth element resource evaluation of coal byproducts: A case study from the Powder River Basin, Wyoming. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 158: 112148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2022.112148
Ernst, K.C., Fernandez, M.P., Diuk-Wasser, M., Enriquez, A.J., Berry, K., and M.H. Hayden. 2024. Contrasting perceptions, knowledge, and actions around Lyme disease in an urban area of emerging Lyme disease and an area of endemic Lyme disease in the Northeastern United States. The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 111(4): 865–879, https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.24-0035
**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.