---
title: Paddling Against the Current on Stream Restoration
date: 2022-04-26T05:30:00-04:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/paddling-against-the-current-on-stream-restoration"
section: Articles
---
# Paddling Against the Current on Stream Restoration

*April 26, 2022* — by [Kimbra Cutlip](/author/kimbra-cutlip)


> Study Shows Environmental Benefits Higher Where Residents Less Willing to Pay

*I Stock 1219372525 1920x1080 — Stream restoration projects can reduce nutrient pollution flowing downstream, but often require trees to be cut down near the banks (below)—a step that can make local homeowners feel their neighborhood is losing natural amenities.*

Stream restorations filter pollutants out of local waterways and improve the health of the Chesapeake Bay, but there’s a mismatch between where such work would do the most good and where the most public support for it lies, according to a new study of Baltimore-area neighborhoods by a University of Maryland environmental economist and an interdisciplinary team of colleagues.

Stream restoration projects in less densely populated and generally wealthier parts of the study area would create a greater environmental effect downstream than they would in denser, generally less wealthy urban areas—even though urbanite homeowners are more open to taking on taxes and fees related to stream restoration, according to the study published today in the journal *Environmental Research Letters.* The study should help inform decision makers charged with improving water quality, who often must balance community support with environmental impacts.

“We see this strong urban-to-rural gradient where in urban areas there’s a higher economic potential as far as community support to pay for stream restoration, but less ecological potential to reduce nutrient pollution, and vice versa,” said David Newburn, an associate professor in the[ Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics](https://www.arec.umd.edu/) at UMD and co-author of the study. “The overall trend is that there’s often a trade-off for environmental and economic benefits from stream restoration projects, and it’s hard to find the win-win locations.”


*Stream*




**Topics:** [Research](https://today.umd.edu/tags/research)


**Tags:** [Agricultural and Resource Economics](https://today.umd.edu/topic/agricultural-and-resource-economics), [Research](https://today.umd.edu/topic/research)


**Units:** [College of Agriculture and Natural Resources](https://today.umd.edu/topic/college-agriculture-and-natural-resources)