How we manage population centers is intertwined with our conservation of wild areas. The more we create equitable population centers in places people want to live, the more we can create durable, landscape-scale conservation outcomes outside of towns.
Archives for 2023
The Outdoor Recreation Economy by State
The outdoor recreation economy is large, growing faster than the overall economy, and consists of jobs in many industries. Explore data by state.
Latinos face higher flood risks than other groups
Headwaters Economics and the Hispanic Access Foundation have released a report that shows that 44% of Latinos live in counties with high flood risk, as opposed to 35% of non-Latinos.
Los latinos enfrentan mayores riesgos de inundaciones que otros grupos
Headwaters Economics y Hispanic Access Foundation han publicado un reporte que muestra que el 44% de los latinos viven en condados con un alto riesgo de inundaciones, en contraste con el 35% de los no latinos.
The unequal impacts of flooding
Headwaters Economics has conducted an analysis of flood and socioeconomic data to illustrate where flood risks disproportionality affect vulnerable populations.
Congressional wildfire commission lays out a new approach for wildfire policy
A new report from the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission recommends transformative approaches needed to overcome the wildfire crisis.
Economic Impact of National Parks
Millions of national park visitors generate economic opportunities for gateway communities, spending money that creates jobs and income. See the trends for every national park service unit.
FEMA’s BRIC program continues to fund innovative risk reduction – but community capacity limits access
Headwaters Economics has analyzed the latest project selections announced by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for its Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grant program.
New ways to measure trail use could transform how outdoor recreation is developed and managed
Better data is needed to measure recreational use on public lands. New, accurate methods are being pioneered in Montana’s Bridger Mountains.
Building the outdoor recreation economy in natural resource-dependent communities
Lessons from communities dependent on natural resource extraction that have successfully diversified their economies with outdoor recreation.
Missing the mark: Effectiveness and funding in community wildfire risk reduction
A new analysis shows that managing the built environment is the most effective strategy at reducing wildfire risk to communities, yet it receives the least funding and policy support.
Analysis of the first round of Community Wildfire Defense Grants
An independent analysis by Headwaters Economics shows that the first round of funding from the Community Wildfire Defense Grant program prioritized high-risk, low-income communities.
Decreasing flood risk in the Midwest with regional collaborations
A regional approach to flood risk can help communities pool resources and implement effective solutions. Five case studies offer lessons.
The Amenity Trap: How high-amenity communities can avoid being loved to death
Amenity communities face unique challenges from waves of tourists and new residents. Proactive planning can help avoid being loved to death.
Building for wildfire
In this video produced by Headwaters Economics, homeowner Brodey Simkins describes the tragedy of losing his home to wildfire and his commitment to rebuilding with wildfire in mind.
Wildfire safety standards for Montana
Statewide wildfire safety standards are proven and cost effective. Montana can adopt standards to help make communities safer from increasing wildfire risks.
The American Community Survey in our data tools
Find the latest American Community Survey data in all of our tools, including the Economic Profile System and Neighborhoods at Risk.
Match requirements prevent rural and low-capacity communities from accessing climate resilience funding
Many federal grant programs require communities to provide a local match, creating barriers for rural and underserved places.
New research shows where wildfire mitigation can be highly cost effective
The United States is spending billions of dollars on suppressing wildfires that threaten a growing number of homes, but very little on better preparing communities before a wildfire occurs.