Skyline Tier is located above Beaumaris near Scamander, on Tasmania’s East Coast. In the late 1960s to early 1970s about 2,000ha of native forest behind Scamander was converted to Radiata pine plantation with associated periodic clear felling of the pines on steep slopes.
With Australian Government funding, 350ha of radiata pine plantation at Skyline Tier has been restored to native forests by the North East Bioregional Network (NEBN).
Ecological restoration work undertaken at Skyline Tier has a number of economic benefits. Economic benefits relate to outcomes that affect individual and community well-being through direct use of restored areas by individuals, indirect use or non-use (James and Gillespie 2002). These economic benefits are valued based on the community's willingness to pay (WTP) for them and can be potentially be estimated using market data, revealed preference methods or stated preference methods (James and Gillespie 2002).
In addition, restoration works can provide economic activity to local communities via labour and non-labour expenditures during restoration and expenditures during ongoing management. Where restored sites are used for tourism and recreation, additional economic activity can be generated for a local community.
This report explores the potential economic benefits from the Skyline Tier Restoration Project (the Project) as well as the economic activity generated. Section 2 provides background to economic values and valuation methods as well as economic activity analysis. Section 3 identifies a range of potential economic benefits from the Skyline Tier Project and where possible infers an economic value based on benefit transfer from nonmarket valuation studies. Section 4 examines expenditure patterns from the Project and the economic activity impacts on the Break O’ Day Local Government Area (LGA).