Robby Fonner, PhD

Background

Robby Fonner earned a B.A. in environmental studies and economics from the University of Colorado in 2004. He then earned a M.S. in natural resource economics from Oregon State University in 2008 and a Ph.D. in economics from the University of New Mexico in 2014. Robby joined NWFSC in 2015. He previously held economist positions in environmental consulting and state government.

Current Research

Dr. Fonner's research focuses on the economics of protected resources management, and the analysis and valuation of related ecosystem services. His current research program seeks to inform the tradeoffs associated with conservation and recovery planning decisions for Pacific salmon and steelhead.   

Habitat restoration return on investment analysis
Prioritizing salmon habitat restoration investments by linking cost information and optimization methods to models of salmon habitat and salmon survival

The value of ecosystem services associated with salmon recovery policies
Using stated and revealed preference methods to estimate the value of ecosystem services associated with conservation and recovery policies

The behavior and incentives of parties involved with salmon conservation
Modeling dynamics between environmental conditions, management conditions, and behavior of interested parties under alternative salmon recovery policies

Institutional barriers to salmon recovery
Assessing how impediments to effective governance can arise due to the complexity of salmon life cycles, and how they may be reduced

Curriculum vitae (PDF, 6 pages)