Counties with public lands today tend to have larger, more diverse, and slightly older populations.
Peter Nelson, PhD, is a Professor of Geography at Middlebury College in Vermont where he joined the faculty in 1999. He holds PhD and Master’s in Geography from the University of Washington and a BA in Geography from Dartmouth College. He teaches courses on population issues, the global economy and the rural United States. His current research funded by NSF focuses on migration to rural communities and rural gentrification. He has also examined subprime lending in rural housing markets (supported by USDA) and the connections between aging baby boomers and Latinos arriving in certain rural destinations. Nelson’s recent articles include: “Rural gentrification and networks of capital accumulation—A case study of Jackson, Wyoming” in Environment and Planning A; “The global rural: gentrification and linked migration in the rural USA” in Progress in Human Geography; “Baby Boom Migration and Its Impact on Rural America” for the U.S. Department of Agriculture; “Linking baby boomer and Hispanic migration streams into rural America” in Population, Space and Place; and “Rural gentrification and linked migration in the United States” in Journal of Rural Studies. Peter lives in Weybridge, Vermont (population 824) with his wife and two sons. He enjoys fly-fishing, biking, golf, and anything involving skis.