The health and wellbeing of human population depends upon the services provided by ecosystems and their components – organisms, soil, water, and nutrients. An ecosystem is a community of animals (including humans) and plants interacting with one another and with their physical environment. The services they provide are often taken for granted – drought and flood mitigation, river and coastal erosion, pest control, soil preservation, air and water purification, and crop pollination are just a sampling. The Ecological Society of America provides a primer on ecosystems services which can be found at www.esa.org or at www.actionbioscience.org/environment/esa.html together with links to other resources.

The contribution of ecosystem services in financial terms is massive but often not recognized until human activity disrupts ecosystems in ways that leaves communities faced with high costs associated with flood damage, water contamination, or loss of fisheries. A 1997 study featured in Nature estimated that globally, the value of these services could be at least $33 trillion per year, or nearly twice the global gross national product of $18 trillion.

At the Federal government level, the Environmental Protection Agency sponsors research on ecosystem services. In 2010, the US Department of Agriculture announced the creation of the Office of Environmental Markets to carry out USDA's climate and rural revitalization goals by supporting the development of emerging markets for carbon, water quality, wetlands and biodiversity. As Secretary Vilsack noted, "Environmental markets leverage private investments that result in cleaner air, improved water quality, restored wetlands, and enhanced wildlife habitat. [They] have the potential to become a new economic driver for rural America, exactly what we need to support a bold, creative future for America's farmers, ranchers and rural communities."

The Rural Futures Lab is interested in exploring the idea of ecosystems services as an economic driver and of the creation of markets to restore, enhance, and protect the ecosystems that provide these services. Some questions to be addressed include:

• What is the potential for jobs and business creation in rural regions?
• What is required in terms of skills, infrastructure, and capital to achieve real impact?
• How are potential conflicts between economic, social, and environmental interests to be resolved?
• What are the appropriate roles of the private sector, nonprofits, and different levels of government?

The Rural Futures Lab will be looking for partners initially to craft foundation papers, to write profiles of promising practices, to convene around critical issues, and to create a new narrative around the stewardship of our nation’s ecosystems and the vital services they provide for our well-being.