The outdoor recreation economy is large, growing faster than the overall economy, and consists of jobs in many industries. Explore data by state.
The Value of Montana’s Outdoors
Montana’s outdoors attracts people and talent, creating jobs and a high quality of life. The outdoors is essential to the state’s future economic growth.
Public Land Ownership in the United States
Public lands influence the economy, demographics, and fiscal policies of communities. Explore maps and county-level data for the 828 million acres of federal, state, and municipal land in the U.S.
People and Public Lands Essays
What is the economic impact of America’s public lands and waters? How can we quantify how these remarkable resources contribute to our quality of life? And how are our valuation methods and public policies changing?
Redesignating Bandelier National Monument as a National Park
Study on the economic impacts of redesignating Bandelier National Monument as a National Park with case studies of other Monuments converted to National Parks.
Montana’s Outdoor Recreation Economy
A new report highlights the role of Montana’s outdoor recreation economy in spending, jobs, and economic diversification.
Populations at Risk
Populations at Risk quickly and easily generates and downloads reports about populations more likely to experience adverse social, health, or economic outcomes.
Economic Impact of National Parks
This interactive and background materials show visits, spending, and the number of jobs created in gateway communities for every National Park Service unit.
Impact of National Monuments Redesignated National Parks
Investigating the economic effects of National Monuments redesignated National Parks, and the potential impact of converting the White Sands National Monument to a National Park.
Gallatin County’s Economy, Growth, and Open Space
This report summarizes Gallatin County’s economy, how it has grown, and what is driving its performance. The report also describes how growth threatens open space and the role these lands play in local quality of life.
Communities Threatened by Wildfires, 2000-2017
Explore all communities threatened by wildfires from 2000 to 2017.
Wildland-Urban Interface: The Problem, Trends, & Solutions (slides)
Slide show: The wildland-urban interface is growing and wildfires are causing cause more damage. Land use planning is an important solution.
Communities Threatened by Wildfire, 2000-2017: Sortable Table
The sortable table identifies frequently threatened towns and cities, including the different sizes and distances of wildfires from nearby communities.
Assessing Wildfire and Populations at Risk
A new tool helps the City of Santa Fe, New Mexico assess wildfire and populations at risk.
Lessons from the Timber Transition
Western counties once dependent on timber today perform similarly to like-sized counties. Three case studies outline economic lessons from counties that weathered the timber transition.
Montana’s Economy, Public Lands, and Competitive Advantage
This report summarizes Montana’s economy analyzing recent growth and what is driving its performance, including a description of how federal lands help attract people, investment, and businesses.
Economy Surprisingly Dependent on Non-Labor Income
Non-labor income sources such as investments, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid often are the largest and fastest growing sources of personal income for many counties. Rural counties especially are surprisingly dependent on non-labor income.
The Value of Public Lands
Headwaters Economics compiled a number of regional reports, case studies, tools, research library, and related news articles on the value of public lands to nearby communities.
The Economic Value of Federal Public Lands (slides)
Slide show: The role of federal lands in rural development.
Wildfire Experts’ Paper Informs Effective Policy
Wildfire experts outline key science insights important to inform policy discussions and development while reducing future risks and costs.