Public lands such as wilderness and national parks fuel the economy and are a job creator in the West, luring the best companies and most talented employees to enjoy the country’s playgrounds.
That assertion is the impetus behind a letter sent Wednesday to President Barack Obama and signed by more than 100 economists and academics in related fields, asking him to protect existing public lands.
The letter also urges him to create new protected areas, although in a subsequent teleconference hosted by some of the signatories they said that option would be more viable down the road…
Of more critical concern is the declining health of existing national parks and monuments that are suffering from neglected infrastructure that threatens the visitor experience, said Ray Rasker, the letter’s organizer and executive director of Headwaters Economics.
“Much of the infrastructure is crumbling,” Rasker said. “It really requires an investment and is something we need to protect.”…