However, research by Headwaters Economics — the same independent firm advising Coconino County on wildfire risk and homeowner’s insurance — shows that only a small proportion of federally owned land is suitable for building affordable housing.
A similar report from Headwaters Economics found that only 0.2 percent of BLM or Forest Service land is within 5 miles of towns with high demand for housing.
There are no BLM-owned parcels in Oregon, Washington or Idaho large enough to justify housing development, according to an analysis by Headwaters Economics, a nonprofit community development research group based in Montana.
A recent analysis by Headwaters Economics found that public land transfers offer little promise as a housing solution.
In 2017, Dawson County and the City of Glendive asked the Army Corps for help, and started meeting and planning with local partner, research nonprofit Headwaters Economics, in 2021.
A 2017 study by Headwaters Economics, a nonprofit research group, found that Western rural counties with more public land have had greater economic growth, including in jobs and personal income, than those with little public land.
“We do know that many of the most effective home-hardening risk-reduction strategies are also the most affordable,” said Kimiko Barrett, a wildfire policy expert at Headwaters Economics, a nonprofit research organization that has studied hardening and helps maintain the Forest Service tool.
“This doesn’t mean we need to live in concrete bunkers,” said Kimiko Barrett, a Headwaters Economics wildfire research and policy analyst. “It means using the best available materials, engineering and science to withstand a wildfire. These are the homes of the future.”
A 2020 report from Headwaters Economics looked at home building trends in wildfire hazard areas from 1990 to 2016, focusing on 25 counties in the western half of the state where wildfire data was most consistent.
That’s why we’ve taken information from a report by Headwaters Economics showing the number of structures that are reported to be destroyed by wildfires over the past 18 years, and used Fixr.com cost guides to see how much prevention methods cost.
“There’s great interest in how to make smart investments up front before people’s lives are ruined,” said Patty Hernandez, executive director of Headwaters Economics.
But the nonprofit research group Headwaters Economics found only a slice of it — about 1.5 million acres — is practical and safe for development. The group estimates that’s enough land to build about 700,000 new homes near communities with unmet housing needs.
But the nonprofit research group Headwaters Economics found only a slice of it – about 1.5 million acres – is practical and safe for development. The group estimates that’s enough land to build about 700,000 new homes near communities with unmet housing needs.
“Since wildfirerisk.org launched in 2020, there have been 2 million views of the website,” said Kelly Pohl, associate director of Headwaters Economics, a nonprofit research group that helps manage the user dashboard.
“Programs like BRIC really help us avoid these ballooning disaster costs that we’ve seen, by simply being more proactive,” says Kristin Smith, a researcher who studies disaster funding at Headwaters Economics, a think tank that studies development and land management decisions. “We pay a little now or a lot tomorrow.”
As disasters have grown in frequency and severity, so too has the strain on public finances and the urgency to update budgeting practices, especially in the states, to help public officials plan for changing spending needs.
Federal government funding is a “cornerstone” of Montana’s economy, according to a recent report from Headwaters Economics. The report analyzes the effect of potential cuts to the federal workforce amid reduction under the Trump Administration.
A new roof on a 2,500-square-foot, single-story, single-family home averages $21,810, according to a study by the IBHS and coauthored by Headwaters Economics. A wildfire-resistant roof including vents, fascia, soffits, and gutters costs about $27,670.
Between 1970 and 1989, timber earnings accounted for 37% of Skamania County locals’ income, according to a report from the independent research group Headwaters Economics. By 2014, timber accounted for just 1% of total earnings.
