A social assessment of ecosystem services: a comparative stakeholder analysis of the Portneuf River Watershed, Idaho

Ecosystem service assessments are diversifying from traditional biophysical and economic methodologies to incorporate a social assessment approach. This emerging approach uses surveys and interviews to explore how people relate to and prioritize ecosystem services, providing insights into the social feasibility, acceptance, and robustness of socio-ecological management strategies. Despite its promise, the social approach remains methodologically underdefined. To address this limitation, this case study presents a social assessment of ecosystem services within the Portneuf River Watershed, Idaho, focusing on a comparative assessment of expert and public stakeholder perspectives. The findings highlight the approach’s utility in identifying (mis)matches between stakeholder perspectives across four key dimensions: (1) ecosystem service recognition, (2) ecosystem service importance, (3) ecosystem service change over time, and (4) the influence of land use on ecosystem service provision. These findings are contextualized by examining factors such as stakeholder demographics, the environmental legacies of the study region, and the design of the survey, illustrating the potential of the social approach to inform socio-ecological management. Finally, we discuss methodological considerations for adapting our study design to other place-based contexts and highlight how case studies can contribute to broader networks of interconnected research.