…Mark Haggerty [of Headwaters Economics outlined] the condition of the economy throughout the state, explaining that the perception from the outside is that it consists of wheat, oil, timber, mining and cattle industries. But according to a recent poll commissioned by conservation groups, nearly 89 percent of Montana residents believe farming and ranching to be the most important sector in Montana’s economy, Haggerty said.
While the value of farming and ranching cannot be understated, Haggerty said that health care has in fact been the fastest growing industry in the state, followed by tourism and retail, and a close evaluation of these industries reveals interesting trends in economic growth.…
“We’ve done a lot of statistical analysis, and you can see that counties that more than 30 percent of their land base not just in public lands but protected public lands grew at a much faster rate than counties that did not have protected public lands within their boundaries,” said Haggerty. “Public lands and our quality of life are a huge asset.”…
“Outdoor recreation contributes $2.5 billion in spending to the state, 34,000 jobs and $118 million in taxes,” said Haggerty. “So people coming here to ski or coming here to fish, this is a really important part of what’s going on in Montana.
“You’re talking about significant value being created by the type of work that you guys are doing in watersheds — going out and making sure that stream banks are stable, making sure that culverts are working properly, making sure that roads aren’t putting sediment into watersheds, making sure that grazing practices are appropriate — all of that stuff has real dollar value,” he continued.
“Everyone here working for a watershed group knows how many volunteer hours go into it, how many grant dollars go into it and how much time and effort it takes to take care of our watersheds,” Haggerty said. “And that is all work that is part of our economy.”