Prairie: what have you done for me lately? (Prairie Economics 101)

Minnesota DNR Prairie Pod

One of the hardest things to quantify is how much things like clean air, drinkable water, flood control, and healthy soils are worth. How do you quantify the benefit of these ecosystem services and what is the cost when we lose the land that provides them? Arguably, even harder to quantify are the intangible benefits like mental health and well-being, spiritual connections, and a sense of peace one can derive from the prairie. From pheasant hunting to an improved quality of life, we've done the math to help you make dollars and ‘sense' out of the prairie.