ABSTRACT 97-26860 Loucks W/WS: Development and implementation of decision support systems of predicting economic and ecologic impacts of alternative land and water management policies in urbanizing regions. Community planning and environmental assessment boards must frequently evaluate proposed changes in current land and/or water use. The aim of this research is to provide planning and environmental boards with an appropriate interactive PC computer-based technology for predicting the economic and ecologic impacts of decisions they may make regarding alternative water and land use policies. This research will identify and quantify how various temporal and spatial patterns of surface and ground water flows and pollutant concentrations effect land and water ecosystems. The investigators will also predict how different land and water management policies and related socioeconomic activities influence local economic development and tax revenues. This research is a multidisciplinary effort. The research team consists of an ecologist, a regional economist; and three agricultural-environmental and systems engineers. A prototype of the technology will be ready for evaluation by potential users at the conclusion of the project.
