The League of Women Voters of Lee County is inviting the public and its members to attend an event titled “The Economic Impacts of Water Quality” on Saturday, April 6 from 9 to 11 a.m. at The Collaboratory at 2031 Jackson St. in Fort Myers. The program will begin at 9:30 a.m., and attendees can choose to participate in person or via Zoom. To register, interested individuals can visit Eventbrite, send an email to lwvlee@lwvlee.org, or call 239-278-1032.
During the event, Matt DePaolis, the environmental policy director at the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF), will present the results of a recent study on the economic impacts of water quality in Southwest Florida. The study was conducted by Greene Economics and commissioned by Captains for Clean Water, the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, and SCCF.
The study revealed that Harmful Algae Blooms (HABs) can cause significant economic losses in Lee County alone, amounting to $195 million in recreational and commercial fishing revenues and expenditures. Additionally, an estimated 24,808 jobs could be lost in a year with an estimated loss in output of $3 billion. Property values could see a decrease of $3.8 billion, resulting in a loss of $21.4 million in property tax revenue. The study also estimated that non-market recreation (quality of life) lost would be valued at $5.3 billion.
DePaolis utilizes his expertise in environmental and marine biology to advocate for policies based on SCCF’s scientific research as Policy Director at SCCF. He has a background as a field biologist in Florida, the Bahamas, and Guyana and holds a master’s in marine biology and JD with a focus on ocean and coastal law from the University of Oregon prior to his current position he worked on various environmental policy issues with organizations such as UN and Wild Salmon Center focusing on climate litigation fisheries policy water quality regulations among others
