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Media Coverage

Recent press coverage of research by Headwaters Economics.

Market Watch

 A retirement town destroyed by fire highlights climate risks to older adults

Published by MarketWatch on August 29, 2022

Since the Camp Fire, state and local authorities have tightened requirements for “fire-hardened” homes, but most standards apply only to new construction, according to Kimiko Barrett, of the Bozeman, Montana-based Headwaters Economics.

Related research
  • Construction costs for a wildfire-resistant home: California edition
  • Wood roofs are a $6 billion wildfire problem
The Hill

 A push for wildfire-resilient homes

Published by The Hill on August 12, 2022

When a home is built to be more resilient against environmental hazards, additional expenses can be expected. The cost of wildfire resilient measures can vary, depending upon the location, risk exposure, building size and features, as well as other factors. According to a report co-authored by IBHS and Headwaters Economics, it may add as little as $2,800 to the cost of building a new wildfire-resistant home in California.

Related research
  • Construction costs for a wildfire-resistant home: California edition
  • Full Community Costs of Wildfire
E&E News

 Coastal states get majority of FEMA hazard grants — again

Published by E&E News on August 10, 2022

“BRIC is intended to fund big, visionary projects that take a lot of money,” said Kristin Smith, a researcher at Headwaters Economics, a nonprofit research organization in Montana. “Those are exactly the kind of projects that many lower-capacity rural places just do not have the resources to put together.”

Related research
  • Capacity-limited states still struggle to access FEMA BRIC grants
  • A rural capacity map

 Eastern Kentucky Floods Continue Cycle of Poverty

Published by Circle of Blue on August 5, 2022

Many trailer parks are built on cheap, risky land. They bore the brunt of the flood damages, this year and last. That outcome is consistent with nationwide trends. Analysts at Headwaters Economics found that one in seven mobile homes are built in an area with high flood risk, compared to one in 10 for all other housing types.

Related research
  • Mobile home residents face higher flood risk

 How Wildfires Impact California’s Housing Crisis

Published by Yes! on August 3, 2022

More than 3,600 structures, including homes, burned in California wildfires during 2021. Between 2005 and 2020, nearly 60,000 structures were lost to fire in the state, according to the research firm Headwaters Economics.

Related research
  • Wildfires destroy thousands of structures each year

 Fireproofing homes isn’t very expensive

Published by Builder on July 29, 2022

Despite recommendations from fire officials, codes to require wildfire safety measures in Western states have often been halted by cost concerns.

Related research
  • Construction costs for a wildfire-resistant home: California edition

 8 Things to Know Before Buying a House in a Wildfire-Prone Region

Published by Bob Vila on

According to a 2020 study by the nonprofit research group Headwater Economics, wildfires destroyed nearly 89,000 structures between 2005 and 2020, with more than 60 percent of the losses occurring in 2017, 2018, and 2020 alone.

Related research
  • Wildfires destroy thousands of structures each year
  • Wildfire Risk to Communities: A tool to understand, explore, and reduce risk
NPR

 Fireproofing your home isn’t very expensive — but few states require it

Published by NPR on July 28, 2022

Now, a new study shows that enhancing a new home’s wildfire resistance adds minimal cost to an overall construction project.

Related research
  • Construction costs for a wildfire-resistant home: California edition
Santa Fe New Mexican

 Wildfire risk pushes up N.M. home insurance rates

Published by Santa Fe New Mexican on July 25, 2022

Bozeman, Mont.,-based Headwaters Economics in a July report about wood roofs in wildfire-prone areas determined that Santa Fe County’s wildfire risk is greater than 90 percent of U.S. counties. 

Related research
  • Wood roofs are a $6 billion wildfire problem
High Country News

 Protecting neighborhoods from future flames

Published by High Country News on

While there are some less expensive measures people can take to protect their homes, like clearing gutters of pine needles, which can act as kindling, most suggested retrofits are neither cheap nor easy — and that could leave some homeowners vulnerable. 

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

 Thousands of Mountain West homes have wooden roofs vulnerable to wildfire

Published by KUNR on July 18, 2022

Kimiko Barrett, a wildfire researcher and policy analyst at Headwaters Economics, says the federal government hasn’t provided grants to help homeowners address the risks.

Related research
  • Wood roofs are a $6 billion wildfire problem
Montana Public Radio

 Yellowstone floods and closures may shift tourism in Montana

Published by Montana Public Radio on June 22, 2022

Kelly Pohl, the associate director for Headwaters Economics, says Yellowstone visitors spend more than $237 million annually in Montana.

“It’s likely that there will be more tourists recreating and visiting other nearby communities in Montana.”

Related research
  • Economic Impact of National Parks

 Fires Are Burning Hotter and More Frequent

Published by Capital & Main on June 20, 2022

Some of those federal grants for wildfire mitigation should be restructured so rural communities can compete in the fight for funds, according to Headwaters Economics, a nonprofit community development and land management research group. 

Related research
  • Mountain, Midwest, and Gulf States fail to secure FEMA resilience funding
  • The unequal impacts of wildfire
Daily Yonder

 Exporting the Poor? Colorado Resort County Exemplifies the Double Edge of Attracting the Affluent

Published by The Daily Yonder on

“In non-metro counties, as the net migration rate increases by 10%, the share of wages spent on mortgages increases by 7%” Lawson wrote in a 2020 housing analysis on rural recreation communities. As Pitkin County grew 1.2% in the last decade, households struggling to pay rent increased by 3.7%.

Related research
  • Housing in recreation-dependent counties is less affordable
Daily Yonder

 The Economic Potential of the Great American Rail-Trail

Published by The Daily Yonder on June 16, 2022

The completion of a cross-country bike trail in old railroad corridors could add nearly a quarter-billion dollars a year to local economies.

Related research
  • The economic potential of the Great American Rail-Trail
Daily Yonder

 Counties with Recreation-Based Economies Show Biggest Recovery from Long-Term Poverty

Published by The Daily Yonder on June 14, 2022

“We see a lot more inequality even within those communities,” Lawson said. “And so on average it looks like median household income is doing really well – there’s a lot of prosperity, rising wages, and that’s all great. But … we have to be aware of the distribution and what’s happening for those folks earning the lowest income in those communities.”

Related research
  • Recreation Counties Attract New Residents and Higher Incomes

 How inland America is adapting to high water

Published by Grist on June 8, 2022

When we first found out about these new maps, the city council said doing nothing is not an option. That’s when we got help from Headwaters Economics and Great West Engineering.

Related research
  • Decreasing flood risk in rural communities: a pilot program in Three Forks, Montana
Marketplace

 Climate change is making prescribed burning trickier in the West

Published by Marketplace on June 3, 2022

“I think it’s natural to feel skeptical after this experience,” she said, particularly as suppression and recovery costs mount. But Barrett also said abandoning this wildfire mitigation tool would be even more destructive and expensive. 

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
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