Data and code from: Spatial selection undermines flood protection in U.S. wetland markets

Wetland mitigation markets aim to offset environmental damage by allowing developers to purchase credits from previously restored wetlands. We test whether wetland credits traded in these markets offer equivalent flood protection benefits. Using newly developed, high-resolution estimates of wetland flood protection for 915 wetland markets within the continental U.S., we document a likely decline in flood-protective value due to wetland loss over the 1985 to 2021 period. Consistent with standard models of urban economic geography, wetlands lost to development exist near prior developed areas and therefore provide relatively high levels of downstream flood protection compared to wetlands created in compensation--on average 4.1 times as much, though in some cases up to 78 times. We document a high concentration of lost flood protection in Florida. While wetland markets may succeed in preserving total wetland acreage, they may systematically fail to preserve downstream flood protection serv..., , , # Data and code from: Spatial selection undermines flood protection in U.S. wetland markets

Roychowdhury, Indumati; Moore, Frances (Forthcoming 2026). Data and code from: Spatial selection undermines flood protection in U.S. wetland markets [Dataset]. Dryad. [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.b5mkkwhrr](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.b5mkkwhrr)

## Description of the data and file structure

We created a nationwide 30 m raster dataset to analyze flood protection value in wetland mitigation banks across the continental United States.

### Files and variables

## Data

* **footprints_and_buffers.shp (or footprints_and_buffers.rds**): Shapefile of mitigation bank footprint polygons.
* **ServiceAreas_agg.shp (or ServiceAreas_agg.rds)**: Shapefile of mitigation bank service area polygons.
* **service_area_huc12_to_downstream_tracts.csv:** raw output of \"Upstream_iteration.ipynb\", one column is HUC12 watersheds and the other column is a list of downstream census tracts.
* **htdt_conus.rds**: Data..., **Changes after Oct 7, 2025:** 

Updated generate_supp_figures.R

**Changes after Jan 22, 2026:** 

Updated generate_supp_figures.R to include Nolte (2020) land value analysis. Added places_fmv_vacant.tif raster. Updated pooling.R
,