By Ray Rasker, Ph.D., Headwaters Economics — Economists believe protected federal lands are an important driver of economic growth. Across Montana and the West, protected federal lands such as national parks, national monuments and wilderness areas are associated with higher rates of job growth.
Headwaters Economics pproduced economic profiles of every non-metropolitan county in the West from 1970 to 2010, looking at how each of them created jobs during that time frame. We found that non-metropolitan western counties with more than 30 percent of their land base in federally protected status increased jobs by 345 percent during this time frame. By contrast, non-metro counties with no protected federal lands increased employment by 83 percent during the same period.
These results reinforce the idea that natural amenities are an important ingredient in helping communities and states attract businesses, workers and investment. While public lands are associated with travel and tourism activities—which are important in their own right—research increasingly shows that these activities are only one part of a larger amenity economy that is an important driver of economic growth in Montana and across the West.…