Almost half of the full community costs of wildfire are paid for at the local level, including homeowners, businesses, and government agencies.
Archives for 2018
Impact of National Monuments Redesignated National Parks
Investigating the economic effects of National Monuments redesignated National Parks, and the potential impact of converting the White Sands National Monument to a National Park.
Gallatin County’s Economy, Growth, and Open Space
This report summarizes Gallatin County’s economy, how it has grown, and what is driving its performance. The report also describes how growth threatens open space and the role these lands play in local quality of life.
Measuring Whitefish Trail Use
Outdoor recreation and the economic impact of Whitefish Trail use in Whitefish, Montana.
Montana Losing Open Space
From 1990 to 2018, the number of single-family homes in Montana grew by more than 50 percent, and the popularity of large lots converted 1.3 million acres of undeveloped land to housing.
Newsletter: April 2018
Our latest research on communities threatened by wildfires, Montana losing open space to home construction, the economic impact of trails in Whitefish, Montana, and an update to our Populations at Risk reports for any community, county, or state.
Montana Losing Open Space: Sortable Data
Review the different rates of home construction and loss of open space across Montana counties.
Communities Threatened by Wildfires, 2000-2017
Explore all communities threatened by wildfires from 2000 to 2017.
Communities Threatened by Wildfire, 2000-2017: Sortable Table
The sortable table identifies frequently threatened towns and cities, including the different sizes and distances of wildfires from nearby communities.
Estimating Trail Use
By pairing limited, local surveys with activity tracking app data, we are estimating trail use across large areas.
Benefits of a Frontage Path in Gallatin County, Montana
Updated: This report describes the benefits of a frontage path–a proposed paved, multi-use pathway connecting Belgrade and Bozeman along an approximately ten-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 10 in Gallatin County.
Newsletter: February 2018
Our latest research on the benefits of trails to communities, creating an endowment to provide stable federal county payments, the Taos County economy, and mapping vulnerable populations whether in Great Lakes cities or with wildfire risk in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Endowing Federal Public Land Counties
Reforming county payments by establishing a permanent Trust to fund Secure Rural Schools (SRS).
Economic Challenges and Opportunities in Taos County
The economic challenges and opportunities in Taos County stem from being both a bustling mountain resort town, and a rural community facing long-term socioeconomic challenges.