hamilton resource economics
ABOUT
HAMILTON RESOURCE ECONOMICS
Hamilton Resource Economics is a private consultancy firm specializing in natural resource issues. We address the challenging issues facing decision makers in a world filled with risk and uncertainty. Our intent is to help decision makers find the answers they are looking for, which often involves meeting multiple and sometimes competing objectives. We believe the quality of the decision is dependent on the quality of the alternatives and the rigor of the analysis.
WE SPECIALIZE IN
Natural resource planning
Project feasibility analysis
Risk & strategic decision analysis
Linear and mathematical programming
Computer-aided modelling including investment analysis
Limiting factor analysis
Effects analysis and life-cycle modelling.
Statistical and econometric analysis
WE HAVE EXPERIENCE IN
TWO BROAD AREAS
Water in California has long been a source of conflict but we believe that creative solutions exist that can both improve water supplies and strengthen ecosystems.
Water supply planning for public water districts and private companies.
Resource management analyses to aid the recovery of endangered species
SCOTT HAMILTON, PH.D.
PRESIDENT
EDUCATION
Ph.D., Agricultural Economics
Oregon State University, 1985
M.S., Economics
University of New England, Australia, 1983.
B.A., Agricultural Economics (Class 1 Honors)
University of New England, Australia, 1981.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Center for California Water Resources Policy and Management, 2011-present
Senior Scientist
South Valley Water Resources Authority, 2015-present
Executive Director
Water Blueprint for the San Joaquin Valley, 2020-present
Chairman of the Technical Committee
Wonderful Orchards, 1991-2017
Senior Director, Resources
Starrate Pty. Ltd., Australia. 1987-1989
Production Manager
Northwest Economic Associates, 1985-86, 1989-1991
Senior Economist
Cawelo Water District, 1996-2017
President
Kern Water Bank Authority, 1995-2017
Founding Board Member
Dudley Ridge Water District, 1992-2007
Board Member
major projects
Water Blueprint for the San Joaquin Valley
2019 - Present
Unified Water Plan for the San Joaquin Valley
2024 - 2026
Collaborative Science and Adaptive Management Program – Delta Smelt Structured Decision Making
2020 - 2024
Development of the Kern Water Bank
1995-2017
Water Banking Program Between Zone 7 and Cawelo Water District
2004 - 2006
The Economic Effects of Ozone on U.S. Agriculture
1984-1985
Adams RM, Hamilton SA and McCarl BA (1984) The Economic Effects of Ozone on Agriculture, Washington, D.C.: Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, Technical Report, EPA 600/3-84-090, September, 1984.
Hamilton SA, McCarl BA and Adams RM (1985) The Effects of Aggregate Response Assumptions on Environmental Impact Analyses, American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 67(2), May, 1985, pp. 407-413.
Hamilton SA (1985) "The Economic Effects of Ozone on U.S. Agriculture: A Sector Modeling Approach," Ph.D. Thesis, Oregon State University, 1985.
Merz JE, Hamilton SA, Bergman PS and Cavallo, B (2011) Spatial perspective for delta smelt: a summary of contemporary survey data. California Fish and Game Journal 97(4):122-148.
Spatial perspective for delta smelt: a summary of contemporary survey data
Joseph E. Merz JE, Bergman PS, Melgo JF, Hamilton SA (2013) Longfin smelt: spatial dynamics and ontogeny in the San Francisco Estuary, California. California Fish and Game Journal 99(3):164-189.
https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=75568&inline=1
Murphy DD and Hamilton SA (2013) Eastward Migration or Marshward Dispersal: Exercising Survey Data to Elicit an Understanding of Seasonal Movement of Delta Smelt. San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science, 11(3)
http://escholarship.org/uc/item/4jf862qz
Hamilton SA and Murphy DD (2018) Analysis of Limiting Factors Across the Life Cycle of Delta Smelt (Hypomesus transpacificus). Environmental Management.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00267-018-1014-9
Hamilton SA, Bartell S, Pierson J, Murphy D (2020) Factors Controlling Calanoid Copepod Biomass and Distribution in the Upper San Francisco Estuary and Implications for Managing the Imperiled Delta Smelt (Hypomesus transpacificus) Environmental Management 65:587–601
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-020-01267-8
Hamilton SA and Murphy DD (2020) Use of affinity analysis to guide habitat restoration and enhancement for the imperiled delta smelt. Endangered species Research 43:103-120
https://doi.org/10.3354/esr0105
Hamilton SA and Murphy DD (2022) Identifying environmental factors limiting recovery of an imperiled estuarine fish. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2022.826025
Peterson JT, McCreless E, Duarte A, Wohner P, Hamilton S, Medellín-Azuara J, Escriva-Bou A (2024) Prototyping structured decision making for water resource management in the San Francisco Bay-Delta. Environmental Science & Policy, 157, 103775.
Prototyping structured decision making for water resource management in the San Francisco Bay-Delta - ScienceDirect
Hamilton SA, Murphy DD, Montoya EL (2025) Identifying the environmental conditions that determine the distribution of an endangered estuarine fish to manage risk of entrainment. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 13, 1411994. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/ecology-and-evolution/articles/10.3389/fevo.2025.1411994/ful
publications
GET IN TOUCH
ADDRESS
7718 Davin Park Drive
Bakersfield, CA 93308
INFORMATION
(661) 303 1540
scott@resourceeconomics.net