The Ohio River Basin Alliance is pleased to announce the launch of its new website, one that we hope will provide our membership with greater benefits and greater access to the latest happenings around the Basin. Highlights include:
- an interactive membership map,
- ORB Congressional Caucus members,
- latest news from around the Basin,
- portals for event registration,
- updates from the working groups and
- resources, including a groundbreaking economic study that values the ecosystem services within the Basin at $50 billion annually!
Earlier this month Earth Economics, with funding from The Kresge Foundation, completed their report regarding a high-level valuation of co-benefits created by natural ecosystems in the Ohio River Basin. This study used a model that Earth Economics had previously developed for the Land Trust Alliance, which estimates the value of eleven services across nine ecosystems. For this effort, Earth Economics estimated the value of the Ohio River Basin’s natural ecosystems to be at least $50 billion in annual benefits! To learn more, click on “Nature’s Value in the Ohio River Basin: Making Informed Decisions.”
We are very grateful for the team at Earth Economics, including Glen Delaney, Carson Risner, and Thomas Christensen, for their expertise and efforts in producing the report and thanks to The Kresge Foundation for funding the study. This report would not have been possible without their generous financial support.
Also, a special thanks to USACE for hosting our initial website back in 2009 and to ORSANCO for hosting our site for the past 10 years, as our fiscal sponsor. Please feel free to offer feedback on ORBA’s new site as we look forward to an exciting summer and fall ahead.
