Does small dam removal affect local property values? An empirical analysis

This paper uses hedonic analysis to examine the impact of small dam removal on property values in south-central Wisconsin. Data on residential property sales were obtained for three categories of sites: those where a small dam remains intact, those where a small dam was removed, and those where a river or stream has been free flowing for at least 20 yr. The primary conclusions that emerge from the data are that shoreline frontage along small impoundments confers no increase in residential property value compared to frontage along free-flowing streams and that non-frontage residential property located in the vicinity of a free-flowing stream is more valuable than similar non-frontage property in the vicinity of a small impoundment. [author] Research support provided by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation and the McKnight Foundation.