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Headwaters-staff-Mark-Haggerty

Mark Haggerty

  mark@headwaterseconomics.org       406.570.5626

Mark moved to Bozeman, Montana in 1993 and has worked across the state and the West as a researcher, teacher, community organizer, and facilitator. At Headwaters Economics for the past 10 years, Mark has worked to understand why some communities do better than others, and to communicate key lessons and policy ideas to people working to make their own states, counties, and towns more livable and sustainable. Mark's expertise is in fiscal policy, rural economic development, and community planning. He’s served on local planning boards, worked with county commissioners and state legislators across the West, and testified in Congress at the request of both Republicans and Democrats. Mark holds a B.A. in Economics and M.A. in Geography from the University of Colorado.

Fiscal policy is failing rural America

October 2020

State and federal fiscal policies hurt rural communities by limiting how local governments can grow, diversify, and invest revenue.

October 28, 2020 Filed Under: Economic Development, Tax Policy Tagged With: coal fiscal policies, public lands, renewable energy, state fiscal policy, Tax Policy

The Changing Geography of U.S. Electricity Generation

April 2020

Wind Turbines sit atop a hill with low clouds.

Most U.S. states are adding electricity generation capacity faster than capacity is being retired. Renewable energy adds the most capacity in 18 states.

April 29, 2020 Filed Under: Economic Development Tagged With: coal, coal transition, Energy, natural gas, renewable energy

The Evolution of U.S. Electricity Generation Capacity

April 2020

Split image with trucks driving down into coal mine on one side and wind turbines atop a green hill at sunset on the other.

The capacity to generate electricity has transitioned from coal to natural gas to renewable energy, a trend projected to continue.

April 22, 2020 Filed Under: Economic Development Tagged With: coal, coal transition, Energy, natural gas, renewable energy

The health and fiscal vulnerability of rural recreation counties

April 2020

Hikers visit Arches National Park in Utah.

Where rural recreation counties rely on public funding for health care, fiscal solutions should diversify the ways local governments can save and spend.

April 14, 2020 Filed Under: Economic Development, Outdoor Recreation, Tax Policy Tagged With: pandemic, PILT, recreation economy, rural, Secure Rural Schools, state fiscal policy

Building a Federal Land Endowment

March 2020

Commercial receipts earned from management of public lands.

The bipartisan Forest Health for Rural Stability Act would establish a federal land endowment and resolve key challenges of federal land payments to counties.

March 25, 2020 Filed Under: Public Lands, Tax Policy Tagged With: County Payments, endowing federal public land counties

Tension as Catalyst: Public Lands and the Rural West

March 2020

Aerial view of rural town in Montana. (Martinsdale, MT)

View a presentation given at the Our America’s Rural Opportunity forum about the context of public lands and the rural west.

March 18, 2020 Filed Under: Economic Development, Public Lands Tagged With: rural, rural West, video

PILT Proposal Would Help Small-Population Counties

December 2019

Headwaters-staff-Mark-Haggerty

Analysis shows raising Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) population limits for small-population counties would have increased total payments by $2 million in 2019.

December 18, 2019 Filed Under: County Payments, Tax Policy Tagged With: County Payments, PILT

State Trust Lands Part 1: The Trust Model

November 2019

State Trust Land sign posted at road with rugged landscape. Cacti and sage are throughout the landscape.

States were granted trust lands by the U.S. Congress to generate revenue to fund public institutions, primarily public schools.

November 15, 2019 Filed Under: Public Lands Tagged With: state fiscal policy, State Lands, State Trust Lands, Tax Policy, The Value of Public Lands, Trust Lands

State Trust Lands Part 2: Permanent Funds

November 2019

State Trust Land sign posted at road with rugged landscape. Cacti and sage are throughout the landscape.

Overspending of state trust permanent funds reduces future school funding and incentivizes sales of trust land and nonrenewable resources.

November 15, 2019 Filed Under: Public Lands Tagged With: State Lands, State Trust Lands, Tax Policy, Trust Lands

State Trust Lands Part 3: New Demands

November 2019

State Trust Land sign posted at road with rugged landscape. Cacti and sage are throughout the landscape.

Changing economies, new land uses, shifting social values, and political pressure create challenges for state trust land managers.

November 15, 2019 Filed Under: Public Lands Tagged With: State Lands, State Trust Lands, Tax Policy, Trust Lands

State Trust Lands Part 4: Implications for Federal Land Transfer

November 2019

A sign states "State Trust Land, No Trespassing" along a road in Arizona.

Advocates of transferring federal land to states point to the superior ability of state trust lands to generate revenue, but our analysis finds significant economic and fiscal disadvantages.

November 15, 2019 Filed Under: Public Lands Tagged With: federal lands, State Lands, State Trust Lands, Tax Policy, transfer of federal land, Trust Lands

Solutions for Transitioning Coal-Dependent Communities

September 2019

The most effective fiscal policies for communities facing transition away from coal dependency are those that build wealth over time and strengthen community capacity.

September 13, 2019 Filed Under: Best Practices, Coal, Economic Development Tagged With: coal, coal fiscal policies, coal transition

Getting Real About Rural Resilience

April 2019

Headwaters-staff-Mark-Haggerty

Rural and isolated communities face wrenching economic and demographic transitions. A solution to uncertainty is to focus on resilience.

April 16, 2019 Filed Under: Best Practices, Economic Development Tagged With: Economic Development, rural

Commercial Activities on National Forests

March 2019

Updated: Headwaters Economics produced two interactive maps to show the range of commercial activities on National Forests at the Forest, state and forest region levels.

March 20, 2019 Filed Under: County Payments Tagged With: County Payments, Economic Development, The Value of Public Lands

Coal Transition in Montrose County, Colorado

February 2019

Headwaters-staff-Mark-Haggerty

New fiscal and policy assessments help local leaders understand their exposure to declining revenue and policy barriers during a coal transition.

February 21, 2019 Filed Under: Best Practices, Coal, Economic Development Tagged With: coal, colorado, montrose county

Coal Communities Lack Strong Transition Plans

May 2018

A recent review published in the Resources Policy journal with researchers at Montana State University shows that coal communities lack strong transition plans and largely are unprepared for coming changes.

May 21, 2018 Filed Under: Coal, Economic Development

Endowing Federal Public Land Counties

January 2018

Logging Truck, County Payments, endowing federal public land counties

Reforming county payments by establishing a permanent Trust to fund Secure Rural Schools (SRS).

January 22, 2018 Filed Under: County Payments, Tax Policy Tagged With: County Payments, endowing federal public land counties, PILT, Secure Rural Schools, SRS

Comparing Coal Fiscal Policies for Western States

November 2017

coal fiscal policies

Coal fiscal policies vary widely across the West in terms of how revenue is generated, set aside in permanent savings, or spent by state and local governments.

November 3, 2017 Filed Under: Coal, Tax Policy Tagged With: coal fiscal policies

The Context and Status of Colstrip’s Coal-Fired Power Plant

July 2017

Headwaters-staff-Mark-Haggerty

A guide to planning for the long-term social, economic and environmental well-being of the community of Colstrip, Montana.

July 26, 2017 Filed Under: Coal, Economic Development

President’s Budget Proposal Cuts County Payments

June 2017

New analysis and interactive map show how the President’s budget proposal cuts county payments and the impact for every county in the nation.

June 5, 2017 Filed Under: County Payments, Tax Policy

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