…Public lands are an asset and an investment for the future in Lewis and Clark, Cascade and Teton counties. That’s one of the conclusions of a new economic report on the Rocky Mountain Front region that was presented Wednesday to the Helena Chamber of Commerce.
Headwaters Economics policy director Chris Mehl, who prepared the results, says the region has seen slow and steady growth and has potential for much more across all sectors if natural assets – such as public lands – are leveraged.
“So, everything from health care and technology and services to also agriculture – to things like hunting and fishing and the outdoor-recreation economy.”
Mehl says public lands on the Front are connected to more than 10,000 tourism and recreation jobs – jobs that mostly stayed intact even through the recession.…