Meet Rob Johnston

Rob Johnston, an economist and director of the George Perkins Marsh Institute at Clark University in Worcester, MA, joined the Long Island Sound Partnership Science and Technical Advisory Committee this spring. In a Q and A with LIS Partnership staff, Johnston was asked about his interest as a social scientist in understanding the impact of fertilizer use on water quality, and in serving on the STAC, which advises the Long Island Sound Management Committee and includes over 40 scientists and environmental managers.

1. Hi, Rob. As an economist, I imagine you will be bringing a unique perspective to the STAC. I am interested in knowing why the committee should have a social scientist on board?

Environmental management requires managing people. Long Island Sound is influenced by a myriad of human behaviors. Improving the condition of the Sound and its watershed requires an understanding of those behaviors, why they occur, and how they might change under alternative future scenarios.

• You teach in central Massachusetts, but you have been conducting Long Island Sound research since 2018. What drew you to issues impacting the Sound?

I’m drawn to the Sound because of the opportunity to impact policies and programs that benefit people around the region. The ecosystems of the Sound and its surrounding watershed benefit millions of people every day. Yet people’s behavior jeopardizes the health of those ecosystems.

• Nitrogen is a nutrient that leads to algal blooms that harm coastal waters like Long Island Sound. Your research in our region involves collaborating with natural and social scientists to bring together data on the places where nitrogen on the land (such as what’s used in fertilizer) will most likely end up in the Sound (through conveyances such as groundwater channels or streams) with data on who is most likely going to fertilize their lawns and how much. Why is it important to make these connections, and how can it help in efforts to restore Long Island Sound?

Design and targeting of effective behavior change campaigns to reduce Long Island Sound nutrient loads due to lawn fertilizer require an understanding of both where fertilizer is applied and where those applications are likely to have the greatest impact on the Sound. Campaigns applied to areas where little or no lawn fertilizer is used can only have minimal impact on nutrient loads – because fertilizer use in those areas is already low. People’s willingness to change their fertilizer use also varies over different neighborhoods. These are human dimensions. In addition, nutrients from lawn fertilizer applied in some areas may be absorbed by wetlands or other natural systems before they ever reach the Sound. This is the biophysical dimension. By considering the human and biophysical dimensions together, we can identify areas where behavior change campaigns are likely to have the largest positive impact on the Sound.

• What do your neighbors think of your research?

They are supportive and intrigued by the idea that economics can be used to benefit the environment rather than harm it.

• Do you mow your own lawn?

Yes – I mow my lawn but do not apply fertilizer, herbicides or pesticides.

• You also worked as associate director of CT Sea Grant in the 2000s and participated in Long Island Sound Partnership committees when we were known as the Long Island Sound Study.  What changes (either environmental or management-related) have you noticed to the Sound since that period?

Many conditions in the Sound have improved since the early 2000s, with trends heading in the right direction. However, there is still work to be done!