— States were granted trust lands by the U.S. Congress to generate revenue to fund public institutions, primarily public schools.
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Mark Haggerty
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.
State Trust Lands: Permanent Funds
— Overspending of state trust permanent funds reduces future school funding and incentivizes sales of trust land and nonrenewable resources.
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State Trust Lands: New Demands
— Changing economies, new land uses, shifting social values, and political pressure create challenges for state trust land managers.
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State Trust Lands: Implications for Federal Land Transfer
— 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.
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Solutions for Transitioning Coal-Dependent Communities
— The most effective fiscal policies for communities facing transition away from coal dependency are those that build wealth over time and strengthen community capacity.
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Mark Haggerty
Getting Real About Rural Resilience
— Rural and isolated communities face wrenching economic and demographic transitions. A solution to uncertainty is to focus on resilience.
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National Forest Gross Receipts from Commercial Activities, FY 1986-2018
— Explore and Download National Forest Gross Receipts Statistics
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National Forest Timber Sales and Timber Cuts, FY 1980-2018
— Explore and Download National Forest Cut & Sold Report Statistics
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Commercial Activities on National Forests
— 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.
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Mark Haggerty
Coal Transition in Montrose County, Colorado
— New fiscal and policy assessments help local leaders understand their exposure to declining revenue and policy barriers during a coal transition.
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Mark Haggerty
PILT Proposal Would Help Small-Population Counties
— Analysis shows raising Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) population limits for small-population counties would increase total payments by $5.7 to $6.6 million annually.
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Coal Communities Lack Strong Transition Plans
— 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.
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Endowing Federal Public Land Counties
— Reforming county payments by establishing a permanent Trust to fund Secure Rural Schools (SRS).
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Comparing Coal Fiscal Policies for Western States
— 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.
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Mark Haggerty
The Context and Status of Colstrip’s Coal-Fired Power Plant
— A guide to planning for the long-term social, economic and environmental well-being of the community of Colstrip, Montana.
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President’s Budget Proposal Cuts County Payments
— New analysis and interactive map show how the President's budget proposal cuts county payments and the impact for every county in the nation.
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Communities at Risk from Closing Coal Plants
— This post compares economic and demographic characteristics of communities where coal-fired power plants have recently retired or are scheduled to retire.
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Time to Create a Natural Resources Trust
— Unlike most countries and state governments, the U.S. has not created a natural resources trust which could help meet volatility and spending challenges facing local and county governments.
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Mark Haggerty
As Energy Market Forces Shift Coal Woes West, Transition Planning Should Follow
— The new Administration’s plans to remove coal regulations should not dampen efforts to shift coal transition planning West to assist displaced workers and diversify coal-dependent communities.
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What Do Local Governments Receive from Oil and Gas Production Taxes?
— Compare the effectiveness of states’ oil and natural gas tax policies to see which states ensure that tax revenue is available in the right amount, time, and location to manage drilling-related increases in the local demand for services. See which states invest in long-term infrastructure and economic diversification.
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Federal Coal Program in Context
— Explore the Socioeconomic Context of the Federal Coal Leasing Program
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County Payments Research
— County governments are compensated for the tax-exempt status of federal public lands within their boundaries. These payments often constitute a significant portion of county and school budgets, particularly in rural counties with extensive public land ownership.
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Mark Haggerty
Economic Conditions in Communities Dependent on Federal Coal
— This blog draws on federal data and research to describe more about the local economies of the communities dependent on federal coal.
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Mark Haggerty
Changed Electric Power Markets Create New Volatility for Coal
— Lower overall coal generating capacity—the outcome of coal fired power plant retirements and a demand for coal that rises and falls depending on natural gas prices—will create new volatility for coal jobs and for counties, schools, and states that depend on tax revenues from coal.
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Mark Haggerty
Wildlife Refuge Payments: Reforms and Funding
— How national wildlife refuge payments--especially important to rural counties--could be reformed and funded.
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Reforming Wildlife Refuge Payments
— How county governments can benefit from reforming wildlife refuge payments.
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Planning for Montana’s Energy Transition
— While Montana is likely to experience relatively small impacts, coal-dependent communities in Eastern Montana are likely to feel the acute effects of job losses and declining tax revenue in the coming decades.
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County Payments: History, Context, and Policy
— These interactive maps show how federal land payments are distributed to counties and states. Explore both the Payments History maps as well as the Policy Options maps which project what happens if SRS is not reauthorized or if PILT is reformed into a single payment to counties.
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Outcomes of Higher Federal Coal and Natural Gas Royalty Rates
— Analysis shows that proposed federal royalty reforms will increase the cost of delivering natural gas to domestic power plants by a greater amount than coal.
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Coal Royalty Reform: Impact on Prices, Production, and State Revenue
— The proposed federal coal royalty reform rule could have substantial revenue benefits for federal and state governments, limited impact on coal production or prices on federal lands, and increased transparency.
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County Payment Reform Ideas, and Analysis of Recent Proposals
— Reform ideas for future county payments from Headwaters Economics as well analysis of proposals made in the House, Senate, and by the President.
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Mark Haggerty
Will Federal Coal Valuation Reforms Hurt the Coal Industry? Yes And No
— The Office of Natural Resources Revenue recently proposed a new rule that would change the way federal coal is valued for royalty purposes. Will it hurt the industry? Yes and No.
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Unconventional Oil and Gas Revenues to Local Governments
— This report includes seven major energy-producing states and a new interactive adds four more (AR, LA, and PA). The study and interactive compare how local governments receive production tax revenue from unconventional oil and natural gas.
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Federal Coal Royalty Valuation: Current Structure, Effective Rates, and Reform Options
— This report reviews problems with the current federal royalty system, estimates current effective royalty rates, and offers several reform options.
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Mark Haggerty
Time for a U.S. Natural Resources Trust?
— Compared to other nations and even U.S. states, the federal government is a conspicuous laggard in creating a natural resources trust which would allow for stable, permanent, and ever rising payments to states and local governments without risks to taxpayers.
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Mark Haggerty
Falling Oil Prices: Good for the U.S. Economy, Bad for Shale Communities?
— Lower oil prices could be great for the economy, but for the communities dependent on drilling, the price drop may prove challenging for several reasons.
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North Dakota Not Returning Adequate Oil Revenue to Local Governments
— This report compares how North Dakota provides local governments with production tax revenue from unconventional oil extraction compared to other major energy-producing states.
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Wyoming Oil Taxes: Highest Rate, Large Savings Compared to Other States
— This report compares how Wyoming provides local governments with production tax revenue from unconventional fossil fuel extraction compared to other major energy-producing states.
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Local Governmments in New Mexico Receive Lowest Share of Oil Revenue
— This report compares how New Mexico provides local governments with production tax revenue from unconventional fossil fuel extraction compared to other major energy-producing states.
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Colorado Lags Other States in Taxing Oil, Incentives Increase Volatility
— This report compares how Colorado provides local governments with production tax revenue from unconventional fossil fuel extraction compared to other major energy-producing states.
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Montana Oil Tax Policy: No Long-Term Savings, Exposure to Volatility
— This report compares how Montana provides local governments with production tax revenue from unconventional fossil fuel extraction compared to other major energy-producing states.
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Oklahoma on Oil: Big Tax Breaks and Low Returns to Local Governments
— This report compares how Oklahoma provides local governments with production tax revenue from unconventional fossil fuel extraction compared to other major energy-producing states.
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Texas Oil Policy: Low Taxes, No Permanent Savings to Offset Volatility
— This report compares how Texas provides local governments with production tax revenue from unconventional fossil fuel extraction compared to other major energy-producing states.
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Fiscal Lessons for State and Local Governments
— This report explores the challenges for states and local communities caused by unconventional oil and natural gas development, and fiscal best practices that address them.
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The Upper Peninsula’s Economy and a Changing Climate
— This post summarizes the Climate Adaptation Report which provides a description of key economic sectors at greatest risk from extreme weather or long-term climate shifts and is intended to prepare the region’s forests, water resources, and communities for a less certain future.
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Report: Colorado’s Oil and Natural Gas Industry
— This graphical analysis reviews the status of Colorado's oil and gas industry including production, drilling activity, tax policy, its role in Colorado’s economy.
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Unconventional Oil and North Dakota Communities: State Fiscal Policy Unprepared for Impacts of Energy Development
— This report analyzes the growing infrastructure and services needs of the Bakken boom and meeting the demands of unconventional energy development.
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Oil and Gas Drilling: Rig Weeks Activity 2001 – 2011
— Measuring Total Rig Weeks and Changes in Rig Weeks by County
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Report: The Status of Utah’s Oil and Gas Industry
— This graphical analysis shows that Utah's oil and gas industry was recovering at the time of the report.
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National Wildlife Refuge Payments
— Compare Status Quo Payments to Single PILT Proposal; or USFWS Proposal to Single PILT
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Fossil Fuel Extraction and Western Economies
— This study analyzes the fossil fuel economy in five Rocky Mountain states—CO, MT, NM, UT, and WY—and how states and communities can maximize benefits and minimize the costs of energy development.
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Federal Land Payments to Counties: Background Analysis, History, and Context
— Research on the history and context of county payments which play an important role in many rural communities--influencing public lands management, economic development, and funding for local schools, roads, and public safety.
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County Payments, Jobs, and Forest Health
— This post summarizes a newsletter discussing the future of county payments, a White Paper to better to understand how possible reforms, and other research items.
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Fiscal Impact of the Montana Legacy Project
— These studies review the fiscal impact on Mineral and Lake counties of the Montana Legacy Project.
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