The Institute of Social and Economic Research’s Dr. Tobias Schwoerer, Dr. Jennifer Schmidt, and Kyle Borash alongside the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Dr. Joseph Little, published a new article, “Hitchhikers on floats to Arctic freshwater: Private aviation and recreation loss from aquatic invasion”, in the latest issue of Ambio.
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The Institute of Social and Economic Research’s Dr. Tobias Schwoerer, was featured by KTUU to discuss elodea and its potential impact on Alaska's salmon industry, should the state be unsuccessful in eradicating the invasive aquatic plant. Elodea has previously been used as an aquarium plant and for lab kits in biology classes. The State no longer allows the plant to be sold in Alaska.
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"Risky Business" economic experiment studies how markets communicate environmental risk to consumers
For a long time cold weather and geographic isolation protected Alaska from invasive species, but globalization and a changing climate are bringing increased risk. Environmental managers tasked with preventing the spread of invasive species (IS) may do everything they can to prevent the introduction, but travelers, tourists, and companies moving products to Alaska cause IS risk that is difficult for managers to control. Dr.
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The first analysis of the economic effects of invasive species in Alaska finds that governments and nonprofit groups spent about $29 million from 2007 to 2011, or nearly $6 million a year, to manage those species. Tobias Schwörer of ISER and Rebekka Federer and Howard Ferren of the Alaska SeaLife Center did the analysis, based on a survey of public and private organizations that deal with invasive species around the state. The research was funded by several federal and state agencies.