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Media Coverage

Recent press coverage of research by Headwaters Economics.

High Country News

 Who’s after rare metals in the Klamath Mountains?

Published by High Country News on May 26, 2022

“Timber payments … created a really hard situation for local governments in Oregon specifically,” said Kris Smith, a researcher at Headwaters Economics, an independent research group. The area was “stuck in a downward spiral of not having enough money to pay for your everyday needs in local government,” Smith said. 

Related research
  • County Payments Research
The New York Times

 Here Are the Wildfire Risks to Homes Across the Lower 48 States

Published by New York Times on May 16, 2022

Kimiko Barrett, a researcher who helps communities plan for wildfires at Headwaters Economics, a nonprofit research group in Montana, said many prospective homebuyers treat fire as an afterthought. A more important audience for the new data could be local officials, she said, who decide how much money to provide to reduce fire risk and where to allow new construction.

Related research
  • Wildfire Risk to Communities: A tool to understand, explore, and reduce risk
Marketplace

 Quantifying climate risk goes mainstream

Published by Marketplace on

Kimiko Barrett is a lead analyst at Headwaters Economics. She said it’s not just the American West at risk. There’s just more awareness there, given the experience of the last few years.

“And that’s not necessarily the same situation across the country. More than anything, I think it’s just worth knowing that risk is everywhere,” Barrett said.

Related research
  • Wildfire Risk to Communities: A tool to understand, explore, and reduce risk
NPR

 Is your house at risk of a wildfire? This online tool could tell you

Published by National Public Radio on

“We already live in these places that have a lot of risk, so we need to think about how we can become better fire-adapted and build our homes and communities safer,” Pohl says.

Related research
  • Wildfire Risk to Communities: A tool to understand, explore, and reduce risk
Associated Press

 In US, states struggle to replace fossil fuel tax revenue

Published by Associated Press on

“Rural and economically isolated communities could find it hardest to adapt to a low-carbon economy, said Montana-based Headwaters Economics researcher and economist Kristin Smith.”

Related research
  • Federal Fossil Fuel Disbursements to States

 ‘Come home Montana’ push collides with housing angst

Published by Montana Free Press on May 6, 2022

“There’s evidence that it brings people back, but the question is, does it generate sustained economic development, and does it generate it in the places where you want it?”

 How small Kansas companies bring fast internet to rural places that telecom giants ignore

Published by KCUR on May 3, 2022

A new map from Headwaters Economics that measures “rural capacity” — an area’s ability to handle everything it takes to apply for and implement state or federal money — shows that several western Kansas counties, including Morton, Gove and Cheyenne, rank among the most limited in the nation.

Related research
  • A Rural Capacity Map

 Why rural communities struggle to bring in much-needed federal grants

Published by Grist on

“The point of this was to shed light on major barriers that exist for communities trying to plan and finance climate adaptation projects,” said Patty Hernandez, the executive director of Headwaters Economics. “For our team, it was really striking how widespread the problem is.”

Related research
  • A Rural Capacity Map
Marketplace

 Wildfires in April signal growing costs of climate change

Published by Marketplace on April 26, 2022

Barrett said most recovery costs are borne at the local level, by local homeowners, businesses and municipal government. Local governments can get out ahead of those costs by retrofitting buildings and infrastructure for fire resilience, she said. But that won’t come cheap, either. 

Related research
  • Full Community Costs of Wildfire
High Country News

 Why rural communities struggle to bring in much-needed federal grants

Published by High Country News on April 25, 2022

“These decisions are being made right now that will impact the ability of rural communities to access the dollars that are coming online.”

Related research
  • A Rural Capacity Map
Marketplace

 California’s wildfire building codes make newer homes less likely to burn

Published by Marketplace on April 1, 2022

“Retrofitting homes is going to be more expensive than building a home from the start,” said Kimiko Barrett, wildfire research and policy lead at the nonprofit Headwaters Economics. 

Related research
  • Building a Wildfire-Resistant Home: Codes and Costs

 Is National Park Status Always a Good Thing?

Published by Conde Nast Traveler on March 21, 2022

National park designation can both help—and hinder—our wild spaces.

Related research
  • Impact of National Monuments Redesignated National Parks
High Country News

 There are millions of acres of ‘failing’ rangelands, data shows

Published by High Country News on March 14, 2022

54 million acres of federal land managed by the Bureau of Land Management aren’t meeting the agency’s own land-health standards.

E&E News

 ‘Where help is most needed’: Index shows rural climate needs

Published by E&E News on March 10, 2022

“We wanted to create a map to show where help is most needed,” Hernandez said. “Rural communities are failing to compete with higher-capacity cities for funding and resources no matter the gravity of their situations.”

Related research
  • A Rural Capacity Map
Billings Gazette

 Montana land sales skyrocket to new highs in 2021

Published by Billings Gazette on March 2, 2022

As land prices have climbed, so have housing and rental costs. Headwaters said “communities across the country, in every state, are grappling with prices increasing at a rate not seen before, even during the housing bubble that led to the Great Recession.”

Related research
  • Housing costs broke records across the U.S.
Marketplace

 New data indicated some rural communities that could be left behind in the infrastructure bill

Published by Marketplace on February 21, 2022

Some new data indicated some rural communities that could be left behind in the infrastructure bill.

Related research
  • A Rural Capacity Map

 Colorado doesn’t have a statewide fire-resistant construction requirement. In the Marshall fire’s wake, critics say it’s time.

Published by Colorado Sun on February 16, 2022

New homes that meet wildfire-resistant codes can be constructed for roughly the same cost as a typical home and have additional benefits, such as a longer lifecycle and less maintenance, according to a 2018 report from the Montana-based research group Headwaters Economics. 

Related research
  • Building a Wildfire-Resistant Home: Codes and Costs
Public News Service logo

 Study: Rural Communities Could Struggle to Access Infrastructure Dollars

Published by Public News Service on February 14, 2022

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed by Congress is directing a historic amount of funds to climate resilience. But some rural communities risk being left behind on these investments.

Related research
  • A Rural Capacity Map

 Mountain towns across the West are facing a housing crisis. Can the Methow break the mold?

Published by Seattle Times on February 12, 2022

“Recreation destinations on average have seen larger price increases than nonrecreation destinations,” said Megan Lawson, a housing economist with Bozeman, Montana’s Headwaters Economics, which studies the West. 

Related research
  • Recreation Counties Attract New Residents and Higher Incomes
  • Housing in recreation-dependent counties is less affordable
Marketplace

 Inflation hits harder in rural areas

Published by Marketplace on February 9, 2022

The CPI captures how much consumers in urban areas spend on goods and services, with the key word being “urban.” It misses some of the nuance of rural life, according to Megan Lawson with Headwaters Economics.  

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