Thomas P. Holmes

Emeritus Scientist

Forestry Sciences Laboratory, P.O. Box 12254
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709

Phone: 919-549-4031
tom.holmes@usda.gov

Research
Education
and Experience
Organizations
and Awards
Publications
and Products

Current Research

My overall research goal is to describe how healthy forests contribute to individual and societal well-being over the long run. Much of my current research is focused on understanding how non-market valuation methods can be used to quantify a broad suite of forest ecosystem service values. I'm also currently researching topics in wilderness economics, behavioral economics, invasive species, climate change, wildfire risk, and conservation policy.

Education

Ph.D. in Agricultural and Resource Economics, 1986: University of Connecticut

Professional Experience

Research Forester, Southern Research Station, USDA Forest Service: 1988—Current
Economist, Economic Research Service, US Department of Agriculture: 1986—1987

Awards and Recognition

Sören Wibe Award, 2012: Awarded by the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences for best journal article published in the Journal of Forest Economics during the previous 2 years.
Southern Research Station: Director's Team Award for Natural Resource Stewardship, 2008: In recognition of contributions made by publishing the book “The Economics of Forest Disturbances – Wildfires, Storms, and Invasive Species".

Featured Publications and Products

Moore, Christopher C.; Holmes, Thomas P.; Bell, Kathleen P. 2011. An attribute-based approach to contingent valuation of forest protection programs.
Holmes, Thomas P.; Murphy, Elizabeth A.; Bell, Kathleen P.; Royle, Denise D. 2010. Property value impacts of hemlock woolly adelgid in residential forests.
Humphries, Shoana; Holmes, Thomas P.; Kainer, Karen; Koury, Carlos Gabriel Goncalves; Cruz, Edson; Rocha, Rosana de Miranda. 2012. Are community-based forest enterprises in the tropics financially viable? Case studies from the Brazilian Amazon.
Pye, John M.; Holmes, Thomas P.; Prestemon, Jeffrey P.; Wear, David N. 2011. Economic Impacts of the Southern Pine Beetle.
Kovacs, Kent; Holmes, Thomas P; Englin, Jeffrey E; Alexander, Janice. 2011. The dynamic response of housing values to a forest invasive disease: evidence from a sudden oak death infestation.
Holmes , Tom; Gonzalez-Caban, Armando; Loomis, John ; Sanchez, Jose. 2013. The effect of personal experience on choice-based preferences for wildfire protection programs.

Publications

Holmes, Thomas P., ed. 2022. A perpetual flow of benefits: wilderness economic values in an evolving, multicultural society.
Sanchez, Jose J.; Holmes, Thomas P.; Loomis, John ; Gonzalez-Caban, Armando . 2022. Homeowners willingness to pay to reduce wildfire risk in wildland urban interface areas: Implications for targeting financial incentives.
Li, Xiaoshu ; Boyle, Kevin J.; Preisser, Evan L.; Holmes, Thomas P.; Orwig, David . 2022. Property value effects of the Hemlock wooly adelgid infestation in New England, U.S.A.
Warziniack, Travis ; Haight, Robert G.; Yemshanov, Denys ; Apriesnig, Jenny L.; Holmes, Thomas P.; Countryman, Amanda M.; Rothlisberger, John D.; Haberland, Christopher . 2021. Economics of Invasive Species.
Holmes, Thomas P. 2020. Opportunities for systematically valuing ecosystem service benefits produced by federal conservation programs.
Sánchez, José J.; Loomis, John ; González-Cabán, Armando ; Holmes, Tom . 2019. A comparison of wildland urban interface households WTP for wildfire risk reduction programs in California and Florida.
Holmes, Thomas ; Koch, Frank . 2019. Bark Beetle Epidemics, Life Satisfaction, and Economic Well-Being.
Frey, Gregory E.; Cubbage, Frederick W.; Holmes, Thomas P.; Reyes-Retana, Graciela ; Davis, Robert R.; Megevand, Carole ; Rodríguez-Paredes, Diana ; Kraus-Elsin, Yoanna ; Hernández-Toro, Berenice ; Chemor-Salas, Diana Nacibe. 2019. Competitiveness, certification, and support of timber harvest by community forest enterprises in Mexico.
Li, Xiaoshu ; Holmes, Thomas P.; Boyle, Kevin J.; Crocker, Ellen V; Nelson, C. Dana. 2019. Hedonic analysis of forest pest invasion: the Case of emerald ash borer.
McNulty, Steven ; Baca, Aurelia ; Bowker, Michael ; Brantley, Steven ; Dreaden, Tyler ; Golladay, Steven W.; Holmes, Tom ; James, Natasha ; Liu, Shan ; Lucardi, Rima ; Mayfeld, Albert ; Sun, Ge ; Treasure, Emrys ; Conner, L. Mike; Smith, Lora L.; Vose, James M. 2019. Managing Effects of Drought in the Southeast United States.
Conrad, Anna ; Crocker, Ellen ; Li, Xiaoshu ; Thomas, William ; Ochuodho, Thomas ; Holmes, Thomas ; Nelson, C Dana. 2019. Threats to oaks in the eastern United States: Perceptions and expectations of experts.
Sánchez, José J.; Loomis, John ; González-Cabán, Armando ; Holmes, Tom . 2019. Una Comparación de la DAP por Programas de Reducción de Riesgo de Incendios Forestales de los Hogares en la Interfaz Urbana –Forestal en California y Florida.
Holmes, Thomas P; Adamawicz, Wiktor L; Carlsson, Fredrik. 2017. Choice experiments.
Holmes, Thomas P.; Vose, James; Warziniack, Travis; Holman, Bill. 2017. Forest Ecosystem services: Water resources.
Moeltner, Klaus; Blinn, Christine E.; Holmes, Thomas P. 2017. Forest pests and home values: The importance of accuracy in damage assessment and geocoding of properties.
Holmes, Thomas P.; Allen, Will; G. Haight, Robert; Keskitalo, E. Carina H.; Marzano, Mariella; Pettersson, Maria; P. Quine, Christopher; Langer, E. R. 2017. Fundamental economic irreversibilities influence policies for enhancing international forest phytosanitary security.
Hjerpe, Evan; Holmes, Tom; White, Eric. 2017. National and community market contributions of Wilderness.
Marzano, Mariella ; Allen, W. ; Haight, R.G.; Holmes, T.P.; Keskitalo, E. Carina H.; Langer, E.R. Lisa; Shadbolt, M. ; Urquhart, J. ; Dandy, N. . 2017. The role of the social sciences and economics in understanding and informing tree biosecurity policy and planning: a global summary and synthesis.
Sills, Erin O.; Moore, Susan E.; Cubbage, Frederick W.; McCarter, Kelley D.; Holmes, Thomas P.; Mercer, D. Evan. 2017. Trees at work: economic accounting for forest ecosystem services in the U.S. South.
Hyde, Kevin; Peckham, Scott; Holmes, Tom; Ewers, Brent. 2016. Bark beetle-induced forest mortality in the North American Rocky Mountains.
Holmes, Tom; Sills, Erin O. 2016. Bioeconomic Approaches to Sustainable Management of Natural Tropical Forests.
Humphries, S.; Holmes, Tom. 2016. Financial analysis of community-based forest enterprises with the Green Value tool.
Holmes, Tom. 2016. Financial and Economic Analysis of Reduced Impact Logging.
Cohen, Jed; Blinn, Christine E.; Boyle, Kevin J.; Holmes, Tom; Moeltner, Klaus. 2016. Hedonic valuation with translating amenities: Mountain Pine Beetles and host trees in the Colorado Front Range.
Lovett, Gary M.; Weiss, Marissa; Liebhold, Andrew M.; Holmes, Tom; Leung, Brian; Lambert, Kathy-Fallon; Orwig, David A.; Campbell, Faith T.; Rosenthal, Jonathan; McCullough, Deborah G.; Wildova, Radka; Ayres, Matthew P.; Canham, Charles D.; Foster, David R.; LaDeau, Shannon L.; Weldy, Troy. 2016. Nonnative forest insects and pathogens in the United States: impacts and policy options.
Siriwardena, Shyamani; Boyle, Kevin; Holmes, Tom; Wiseman, P. Eric. 2016. The implicit value of tree cover in the U.S.: A meta-analysis of hedonic property value studies.
Holmes, Tom; Bowker, Michael; Englin, Jeffrey; Hjerpe, Evan; Loomis, John B.; Phillips, Spencer; Richardson, Robert. 2015. A Synthesis of the Economic Values of Wilderness.
Weed, Aaron S.; Bentz, Barbara J.; Ayres, Matthew P.; Holmes, Thomas P. 2015. Geographically variable response of Dendroctonus ponderosae to winter warming in the western United States.
Holmes, Thomas P.; McNulty, Steve; Vose, James M.; Prestemon, Jeffrey P.; Li, Harbin. 2014. A conceptual framework for adaptive forest management under climate change.
Holmes, Tomas P.; Aukema, Julian; Englin, Jeffrey; Haight, Robert G.; Kovacs, Kent; Leung, Brian. 2014. Economic Analysis of Biological Invasions in Forests.
Liu, Yongqiang; Prestemon, Jeffrey P.; Goodrick, Scott L.; Holmes, Thomas P.; Stanturf, John A.; Vose, James M.; Sun, Ge. 2014. Future wildfire trends, impacts, and mitigation options in the Southern United States.
Li, Xiaoshu; Preisser, Evan L.; Boyle, Kevin J.; Holmes, Thomas P.; Liebhold, Andrew; Orwig, David. 2014. Potential social and economic impacts of the hemlock woolly adelgid in southern New England.
González-Cabán, Armando; Holmes, Thomas P.; Loomis, John B.; Sánchez, José J. 2013. Does personal experience affect choice-based preferences for wildfire protection programs?.
Holmes, Thomas P.; Calkin, David E. 2013. Econometric analysis of fire suppression production functions for large wildland fires.
D'Andrea, M.; Fiorucci, P.; Holmes, T.P. 2011. A stochastic forest fire model for future land cover scenarios assessment.
Westerling, A.L.; Bryant, B.P.; Preisler, H.K.; Holmes, T.P.; Hildalgo, H.G.; Das, T.; Shrestha, S.R. 2011. Climate change and growth scenarios for California wildfire.
Englin, Joseph; Pang, Arwin; Holmes, Thomas. 2011. Efficiency versus bias: the role of distributional parameters in count contingent behaviour models.
Cooley, David M; Galik, Chrsitopher S; Holmes, Thomas P; Kousky, Carolyn ; Cooke, Roger M. 2011. Managing dependencies in forest offset projects: toward a more complete evaluation of reversal risk.
Preisler, Haiganoush; Westerling, Anthony L.; Gebert, Krista M.; Munoz-Arriola, Francisco; Holmes, Thomas P. 2011. Spatially explicit forecasts of large wildland fire probability and suppression costs for California.
Calkin, Dave; Phipps, John; Holmes, Tom; Rieck, Jon; Thompson, Matt. 2011. The Exposure Index: Developing firefighter safety performance measures.
Holmes, Thomas P.; Loomis, John; Gonzalez-Caban, Armando. 2010. A Mixed Logit Model of Homeowner Preferences for Wildfire Hazard Reduction.
Volinskiy, Dmitriy; Bergstrom, John C; Cornwell, Christopher M; Holmes, Thomas P. 2010. A pseudo-sequential choice model for valuing multi-attribute environmental policies or programs in contingent valuation applications.
Holmes, Thomas P.; Liebhold, Andrew M.; Kovacs, Kent F.; Von Holle, Betsy. 2010. A spatial-dynamic value transfer model of economic losses from a biological invasion.
Holmes, Thomas P. 2010. Confronting challenges to economic analysis of biological invasions in forests.
Prestemon, Jeffrey P.; Holmes, Thomas P. 2010. Economic impacts of hurricanes on forest owners.
Lentini, Marco W; Zweede, Johan C; Holmes, Thomas P. 2010. Measuring ecological impacts from logging in natural forests of the eastern Amazonia as a tool to assess forest degradation.
Holmes, Thomas P; Englin, Jeffrey E. 2010. Preference heterogeneity in a count data model of demand for off-highway vehicle recreation.
Prestemon, Jeffrey P; Holmes, Thomas P. 2010. The role of the Forest Service in the economics of invasive species research.
Holmes, Thomas P.; Aukema, Juliann E.; Von Holle, Betsy; Liebhold, Andrew; Sills, Erin. 2009. Economic impacts of invasive species in forest past, present, and future.
Kovacs, Kent; Englin, Jeffrey; Holmes, Thomas; Alexander, Janice. 2009. The SOD facts of life: property value losses from sudden oak death in Marin County.
Holmes, Tom; Smith, Bill. 2008. Linking sudden oak death with spatial economic value transfer.
Holmes, Thomas P.; Abt, Karen L.; Huggett, Robert, Jr..; Prestemon, Jeffrey P. 2007. Efficient and Equitable Design of Wildfire Mitigation Programs.
Prestemon, Jeffrey P.; Pye, John M.; Holmes, Thomas P. 2004. Temporal Aggregation and Testing For Timber Price Behavior.
Pye, John M.; Wagner, John E.; Holmes, Thomas P.; Cubbage, Frederick W. 1997. Positive Returns from Investment in Fusiform Rust Research.

Research Highlights

Analyzing How to Increase Fireline Production Efficiency (2014): Operational data on fireline production rates are generally lower than the rates identified by expert panel estimates. This study found the lower operational rates can be linked to excessive firefighter fatigue, safety considerations, and likely suboptimal managerial decision making.
Economics and Spread of Invasives (2010): An SRS scientist recently led an interdisciplinary team that proposed new methods for evaluating the economic damages of invasive species on forests. The research indicates that policies that shift the burden of economic impacts from taxpayers and forest landowners onto parties responsible for introducing invasives may be most effective at reducing their impacts.
Estimating the contribution of forests to the economic value of water resource ecosystem services (2018): Forest vegetation is a valuable source of natural capital. Changes in forest cover could affect water resources. This study describes how to estimate the ecosystem service values of water resources from forest landscapes.
Wilderness areas contribute to economic health of rural communities (2017): Forest Service scientists Tom Holmes and Eric White collaborated with Evan Hjerpe of the Conservation Economics Institute to estimate the economic benefits to rural communities that serve as gateways to U.S. wilderness areas. Their research shows that nearly 10 million people per year visit wilderness areas and spend about $500 million in adjacent communities. Annual visitor expenditures generate about 5,700 jobs, resulting in over $700 million in total economic output.