Headwaters Economics

Our latest research on oil & natural gas taxes, the value of public and protected lands, communities utilizing land use planning to reduce wildfire risks and costs, trail use in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and migration patterns across the American West.

Our latest research on dam removal benefits, Taos trails and access, socioeconomic data for every National Forest community, commercial activities on National Forests, and our newest staffer Kelly Pohl.

Our latest research on dam removal benefits, Taos trails and access, socioeconomic data for every National Forest community, commercial activities on National Forests, and our newest staffer Kelly Pohl.

Our latest research showing the economic impact of every National Park Service unit, ways to reform wildlife refuge payments to local governments, an improved trails library, and a survey of the value of trails in Bonner County, Idaho.

Our latest research showing the new tool: Populations at Risk (PAR); the Economic Profile System (EPS); and our new Associate Director, Patty Gude.

Our latest research on communities threatened by wildfire, the West’s economy, trail and pathway use in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and a report on planning for Montana’s energy transition.

Our latest research on federal lands in the rural West, land use planning to reduce wildfire risk, and a paper from ten wildfire experts to inform future policy decisions.

Our latest research on the Three Wests, the impacts of federal royalty rate reforms on coal and natural gas, home construction in Montana, and our newest staffer: Janet Clark.

Our latest research on the benefits of LWCF, home construction in the High Divide region, commercial activities on National Forests, and our newest staffer: Kimiko Barrett.

Our latest research on the updated EPS, economic impacts of National Park Service units, better planning to reduce wildfire risk, the latest county payments and projections, and the new website.

Our latest research on federal coal royalty reform, reducing wildfire threats, trail user surveys, and Bonner County, Idaho’s resilient economy.

Our latest research on trails, the economic value of public lands in Grand County, Utah, economic development opportunities in Wheeler County, Oregon, and climate impacts in the Great Lakes region.

Our latest research on county payments, federal coal royalties, Montana’s economy and its public lands, and the economic opportunities in the Blackfoot River watershed.

Our latest research on migration and population trends in the West, the Tongass Transition Framework, the need for a Natural Resources Trust, and the impact of the federal budget on county payments.

Our latest research on reducing wildfire risk to communities, monitoring the impact of fracking on communities, lessons for wildfire from the federal flood programs, and how renewable energy tax benefits vary widely among rural counties.

Our latest research on National Monuments, commercial activities on National Forests, the economic impact of National Parks, and using an index to target county payments.

Our latest research on Firewise and suppression costs, case studies of how western communities respond to wildfire risk, the economic impact of National Park Service units, and measuring the restoration economy.

Our latest research on the importance of non-labor income in the West, unconventional oil revenues, and free socioeconomic reports with details on every U.S. county.

Our latest research on our Economic Profile System and recent updates.

Our latest research on the economic impact of long-term energy development, an interactive atlas of the West’s economy, winners and losers from proposed county payments reforms, North Dakota’s oil revenue sharing program, and the economic potential of the Owyhee Canyonlands in Malheur County, Oregon.