Will McDow

Director, Habitat Markets

Areas of expertise: habitat markets, mitigation banking, ecosystem services, forestry, wildlife conservation

Work

Will McDow leads the development and implementation of habitat markets for Sage Grouse in the Western US and for aquatic species in the Southeastern US. He has broad expertise on environmental market design, mitigation policy and working lands conservation. Will serves on the board of the National Mitigation Banking Association.

Since joining EDF in 2003, he has focused on market-based incentives to expand environmental benefits on America’s working lands, including prior work on state tax policy, Farm Bill program design and bioenergy markets.

Background

Will has spent 10 years specializing in economic incentives and rural land management, with an emphasis on energy markets, Farm Bill programs and tax policy. He led EDF's multi-year effort to pass legislation in North Carolina that gives property tax relief to landowners who undertake conservation activities on their property. Will has coauthored Standing Tall: A New Path for North Carolina’s Private Forests [EDF, 2006] and “Shades of Green: Measuring the Value of Urban Forests in the Housing Market [J. Forest Econ 11(3):177-199, 2005].

Education

Master of Forestry, Duke University
Master of Environmental Management (Resource Economics and Policy), Duke University
Bachelor of Arts (Biology), Lawrence University