I have been active in the sustainability movement for over thirty five years, working with Earth Economics, the Forest Stewardship Council, Green Festival, Sustainable Cascadia, Sustainable Seattle, Eat Local Now! and others.
WORK
2015-present Ecological Economist, Research Principal, Earth Economics, Tacoma, WA
Estimating non-market economic value of ecosystem goods and services; supervising research and GIS teams, research, design, and development of applied Ecological Economics methods
2009-2015 Research Scientist, Center for Policy Research, Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, University at Albany, SUNY
Research design, data collection and analysis; extracted relational data from large text corpora; curated database of 2,700 violent non-state groups; integrated multiple large-scale entity and event datasets
2007-2008 Visiting Assistant Professor, Western Washington University, Department of Political Science
Environmental Politics, Introduction to Political Science, Politics of Inequality, and the Political Economy of Social Labeling
2004-2008 Research Scientist, NSF Law & Social Sciences Grants: Intercourt Relations in the American Legal System I and II
Developed and co-directed a $340,000 project on development of tools and techniques to study the development of legal precedent within the American federal courts, on the issue of regulatory takings
2004-2005 EPA Risk Assessment Consultant, International Center for Toxicology and Medicine
Human health risk models in IRAP-h View, merged land use data with 3-dimensional vector models, test burn data, and meteorological data to project impacts on human morbidity and mortality
2002, 1998 Research Assistant, Minorities at Risk Project, Center for International Development and Conflict Management, University of Maryland
Analyzed event-level data (1992-2002) for thirty-three minority groups throughout Latin America; annual risk assessment summaries for each group
2001-2002 Research Fellow, Forest Stewardship Council, Washington, DC
Research support for comparison of FSC and SFI technical standards; field research on means to support small-scale private forest owners
2000-2001 Program Assistant, Harrison Program on the Future Global Agenda, University of Maryland
Planned twice-monthly lecture series and academic workshops on the political economy of sustainability and equitable stewardship
1996 Research Assistant, Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy, John F Kennedy School of Government, Cambridge, MA
Research support for an undergraduate course on the history of economic thought, and an intellectual biography of John Kenneth Galbraith
1993-1995 Vocational Agriculture Instructor, National Agriculture-Technical Institute / US Peace Corps, Caraparí, Bolivia
Established curriculum for agriculture and nutrition, with daily lectures and practical exercises for over 100 students. All classes taught in Spanish.
EDUCATION
2017 Certificate in GIS, University of Washington, Professional and Continuing Education
Capstone: “Salmon-Safe Culverts in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska,” identifying benefits and costs due to localized flooding and transportation disruptions following culvert failure
2006 Ph.D., University of Maryland, Politics of Environment and Natural Resources
Dissertation: “Principals, Agents, and Distant Markets: the Role of Information in Non-State Market-Driven Public Policy,” comparing delegation and information transfer in sustainable forest management and certification systems in Chile
2001 M.A., University of Maryland, Political Economy (Natural Resources and Environment, Ecological Economics)
1998 B.A., University of Washington, Political Science (Political Economy, Latin American Politics)
1992 B.A., Evergreen State College, Ecological Agriculture (minor in Discrete Mathematics)
PUBLICATIONS
Angela Fletcher-Muñoz, Abby Needell, Erin Mackey, Jimmy Kaplan, Ken Cousins, Glen Delaney. H2Ohio and the Value of Restoring Wetlands: An Economic Valuation of Ohio’s Agriculture and Wetland Restoration Programs. Prepared for The Nature Conservancy. Earth Economics, Tacoma, WA (2026)
Cassie Koefod, Angela Fletcher-Muñoz, Ken Cousins, Erin Mackey, Abby Needell. Economic Analysis of Outdoor Recreation in Washington State, 2025 Update. Prepared for The Everglades Foundation. Earth Economics, Tacoma, WA (2025)
Ken Cousins, Angela Fletcher-Muñoz, Paul Hindsley, Meenakshi Chabba, Alice Lin, Abby Needell, Yamika Ketu, Glen Delaney, Natalie Aguirre, Brandon Sosa. Thriving Everglades, Thriving Economy: Nature’s Value in the Everglades. Prepared for The Everglades Foundation. Earth Economics, Tacoma, WA (2025)
Angela Fletcher-Muñoz, Alice Lin, Ken Cousins, Cassie Koefod, Erin Mackey, Yamika Ketu. Addendum: Outdoor Recreation on State Lands in Washington. Prepared for the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Washington Department of Natural Resources, and the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission. Earth Economics, Tacoma, WA (2025)
Aaron M Lien, Angela Fletcher-Muñoz, Alice Lin, Erin Mackey, Ken Cousins, Emily Kachergis, Loretta J Metz, and Carrie-Anne Houdeshell. Developing a valuation framework for rangeland conservation investments and ecosystem services. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 80(1), 35–52. (2025)
Carson Risner, Angela Fletcher-Muñoz, Ken Cousins, Maya Kocian, Erin Mackey, Thomas Christensen, Rameh Mehrjou, Alice, Lin, Meredith Hendricks, Devin Rothman, Kyle Kusa. Thriving Open Spaces Support Healthy Economies: Nature’s Value in Santa Barbara County. Prepared for The Land Trust for Santa Barbara County. Earth Economics, Tacoma, WA (2024)
Carson Risner, Ken Cousins, Olivia Molden, Alice Lin. Developing an Economic Case for Resilience Hubs (p. 53). Prepared for the City of Seattle Office of Sustainability and Environment. Earth Economics, Tacoma, WA (2024)
Abby Needell, Ken Cousins. Managing Forests for Source Water Protection: Alternative Watershed Futures. Prepared for Conservation Northwest. Earth Economics, Tacoma, WA (2024)
Ken Cousins, Maya Kocian, Glen Delaney. Response to COE-2023-0005, Procedures to Implement the Principles, Requirements, and Guidelines for Federal Investments in Water Resources. Earth Economics, Tacoma WA (2024)
Angela Fletcher-Muñoz, Loretta J Metz, Aaron Lien, Carrie-Ann Houdeshell, Alice Lin, Erin Mackey, Ken Cousins, Emily Kachergis. Accounting for Nature’s Value with Rangeland Conservation Practices in the Western Range and Irrigated Region. Earth Economics, Tacoma, WA (2024)
Carson Risner, Trygve Madsen, Olivia Molden, Ken Cousins. Expanding FEMA’s Benefit Cost Analysis: Chittenden Living Shoreline Case Study. Prepared for Save the Sound. Earth Economics and Save the Sound (2023)
Earth Economics and Amigos de los Rios. The Next Generation of Schoolyards: Lessons from the Watershed Discovery Campus. Earth Economics, Tacoma, WA (2023)
Earth Economics. Response to the Office of Management and Budget’s Draft Guidance for Assessing Changes in Environmental and Ecosystem Services in Benefit-Cost Analysis. Earth Economics, Tacoma, WA (2023)
Earth Economics and Water Wise Gulf South, Healthy Community Services, Greater Tremé Consortium, Bunny Friend Neighborhood Association, New Orleans East Green Infrastructure Collective, and the Lower 9th Ward Homeownership Association. The Benefits of Community-Driven Green Infrastructure (Updated): Technical Report. Earth Economics, Tacoma, WA (2023)
Earth Economics. Response to the Office of Science and Technology Policy’s proposed Federal Strategic Plan on Statistics for Environmental-Economic Decisions. Earth Economics, Tacoma, WA (2022)
Carson Risner, Ken Cousins, Alice Lin, Angela Fletcher-Muñoz, Olivia Molden. Benefit-Cost Analysis of Best Management Practices in the Blue River Watershed of Oklahoma. Prepared for The Nature Conservancy in Oklahoma. Earth Economics, Tacoma, WA. (2022)
Earth Economics. Cultivating Cultural and Environmental Value: Paradise Parking Plots Community Garden. Fact Sheet. Earth Economics and World Relief Western Washington, Kent, WA (2022)
Will Golding, Laura Villegas, Alice Lin, Tena Ward, Olivia Molden, Ken Cousins. Cultivating Cultural and Environmental Value from Underutilized Urban Space: Quantifying the Benefits of Paradise Parking Plots. Technical Report. Prepared for World Relief Western Washington. Earth Economics, Tacoma, WA (2022)
Ken Cousins, Angela Fletcher-Muñoz, Erin Mackey, Alice Lin. Nature’s Value in Island County: Identifying the Economics Behind a Healthy Puget Sound. Earth Economics, Tacoma, WA (2022)
Erin Mackey, Angela Fletcher-Muñoz, Ken Cousins. Nature’s Value in the Salish Sea: Non-market Benefits and Human Wellbeing. Earth Economics, Tacoma, WA (2022)
Alice Lin, Ken Cousins, Angela Fletcher-Muñoz, Johnny Mojica. Outdoor Recreation on State Lands in Washington: What Mobile Device Data Reveal About Visitation. Earth Economics, Tacoma, WA (2022)
Johnny Mojica, Ken Cousins, Alice Lin. Economic Analysis of the Lake Chelan Golf Course. Prepared for the City of Chelan, WA. Earth Economics, Tacoma, WA (2021)
Johnny Mojica, Ken Cousins, Angela Fletcher-Muñoz. Economic Analysis of Washington State Parks. Prepared for the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission. Earth Economics, Tacoma, WA (2021)
Ken Cousins, Johnny Mojica, Trygve Madsen, Corrine Armistead, Angela Fletcher-Muñoz. Trust Land Performance Assessment: Non-Market Environmental Benefits and Values. Prepared for Deloitte US. Earth Economics, Tacoma, WA (2020)
Johnny Mojica, Ken Cousins, Trygve Madsen. Economic Analysis of Outdoor Recreation in Oregon. Prepared for the Travel Oregon, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Oregon Department of Parks and Recreation. Earth Economics, Tacoma, WA (2021)
Ken Cousins, Corrine Armistead, Johnny Mojica, Jimmy Kaplan. Funding Culvert Replacement: Leveraging FEMA to Support Salmon, Property, and Public Safety. Earth Economics, Tacoma, WA (2020)
Angela Fletcher-Muñoz, Loretta J Metz, Jordan Wildish, Ken Cousins. Accounting for Nature’s Value with USDA-NRCS Conservation Practices in the Central Great Plains. Earth Economics, Tacoma, WA (2020)
Olivia Molden, Angela Fletcher-Muñoz, Ken Cousins. Natural Capital Valuation of Interim Zoning Open Space Parcels. Prepared for the City of South Burlington, VT. Earth Economics, Tacoma, WA (2020)
Ken Cousins, Kenneth Zummach. Finance Mechanisms for the Sustainable Stewardship of Private Forests. Prepared for The Weyerhaeuser Family Foundation. Earth Economics, Tacoma, WA (2020)
Trygve Madsen, Matt Van Deren, Nina Kerr, Ken Cousins. The Forest Beneath the Waves: the Economic Value Produced by California’s Kelp Forests. Prepared for The Nature Conservancy in California. Earth Economics, Tacoma, WA (2019)
Tania Briceno, Ken Cousins, Trygve Madsen, Jared Soares. Accounting for Environmental Change: A Modernized Approach to Benefit-Cost Analysis on the Upper Mississippi River. Prepared for The McKnight Foundation. Earth Economics, Tacoma, WA (2019)
Rebecca Page, Ken Cousins, Johnny Mojica. Hale Parkway Economic Assessment. Prepared for Enginuity Engineering Solutions. Earth Economics, Tacoma, WA (2019)
Angela Fletcher-Muñoz, Ken Cousins. Ecosystem Services Valuation of the Keweenaw Peninsula, Earth Economics, Tacoma, WA (2019)
Matt Van Deren, Ken Cousins, Nina Kerr, Jared Soares. The Public Benefits of Private Forests: an Ecosystem Services Valuation of Private Forest Lands in Pierce County, Washington. Prepared for The Weyerhaeuser Family Foundation. Earth Economics, Tacoma, WA (2018)
Meridian Institute and Earth Economics. Colorado Parks and Wildlife Future Funding Study. Meridian Institute, Aspen, CO (2018)
Zac Christin, Johnny Mojica, Ken Cousins, Matt Chadsey. The Economic Impact of the 2016 Loma Fire. Prepared for The Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority. Earth Economics, Tacoma, WA (2017)
Ken Cousins. The Economic Benefits and Costs of Snow in the Upper Colorado Basin. Earth Economics, Tacoma, WA (2017)
Rowan Schmidt, J Tutak, Peter Casey, Corrine Armistead, Ken Cousins, Mike Mertens, Lola Flores, David Diaz. Economic Analysis of the Pure Water Partners Program. Prepared for the Eugene Water and Electric Board. Earth Economics, Tacoma, WA. (2017)
Maya Kocian, Lola Flores, Ken Cousins, Nathan Cutler. Salmon Habitat Investment Portfolio. Prepared for MatSu 2050. Earth Economics, Tacoma, WA. (2017)
Johnny Mojica, Ken Cousins, Tania Briceno. National Economic Analysis of the Four Lower Snake River Dams: A Review of the 2002 Lower Snake Feasibility Report/Environmental Impact Statement. Economic Appendix (I), Earth Economics, Tacoma, WA (2016)
Victor Asal, Jacob Mauslein, Amanda Murdie, Joseph Young, Ken Cousins, Chris Bronk. Repression, Education, and Politically Motivated Cyberattacks, Journal of Global Security Studies 1 [3]: 234-46. (2016)
Victor Asal, Ken Cousins, Kristian Skrede Gleditsch. Making Ends Meet: Combining Organizational Data in Contentious Politics, Journal of Peace Research 52: 134-38 (2014)
Dennis Pirages, Ken Cousins (eds). From Environmental Scarcity to Ecological Security: Exploring New Limits to Growth, MIT Press (2005)
Ken Cousins. Twenty-nine Days: Responses to a Finite World in From Environmental Scarcity to Ecological Security: Exploring New Limits to Growth. Dennis Pirages and Ken Cousins (eds.), MIT Press (2005)
Ken Cousins, Wayne McIntosh. More than Typewriters, More than Adding Machines: Integrating Information Technology into Political Research, Quality and Quantity 39: 581-614 (October 2005)
Trista Patterson, Tim Gulden, Ken Cousins, Egor Kraev. A Dynamic Model Of Tourism In Dominica, Ecological Modeling 175: 121-36 (2004)
Ken Cousins 