News

…Gardner’s and Balyo’s analyses corroborate an independent study by Headwaters Economics, which clearly shows that parks are engines driving local economies…

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…The opportunity to slip off into the quietude of public lands, whether to race a mountain bike on winding trails or hike into the backcountry and find temporary solace, is a particularly Western phenomenon. In the West, 46 percent of all land is public, compared to just 15 percent in the rest of the country. And while protected public lands offer space for silence and play, they also help drive economic growth in the West, according to a new report from Headwater Economics, unashamedly titled “West is Best.”

The report highlights that for the past 40 years Western states have been outstripping other states in terms of employment, personal income and population growth, and that protected public lands, including national parks, monuments, and wilderness areas, help boost job opportunities and how much people earn. And this is particularly true of non-metropolitan counties, not just the big cities. At the same time, the appeal of the outdoor lifestyle Westerners enjoy is attracting entrepreneurs and talented professionals in service industries, including healthcare workers, architects and engineers…

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…Also last month, an interesting new report was released on the economic benefits of protected public lands. The study was created by Montana-based nonprofit Headwaters Economics. It showed that places with a higher percentage of protected public lands had much more job growth between 1970 and 2010 than places with lower percentages of public lands.

In particular, the study found that non-metro counties in the West with more than 30 percent public lands saw job growth of 345 percent while counties with lower percentages of public lands saw 83 percent job growth…

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…Those points were underscored by a recent study from Headwaters Economics, which found that “Western non-metropolitan counties with more than 30 percent of the county’s land base in federal protected status such as national parks, monuments, wilderness, and other similar designations increased jobs by 345 percent over the last 40 years. By comparison, similar counties with no protected federal public lands increased employment by 83 percent.”…

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A new study confirms what most of us already knew: National parks and wilderness areas are drivers for increased job growth and higher levels of per capita income in the West. People like to live near pretty places.

The report, “West Is Best: How Public Lands in the West Create a Competitive Economic Advantage,” was prepared by Headwaters Economics and outlines how the West’s 355 million acres of public forests, parks and monuments are attracting high-wage industries and creating jobs.

One eye-opener: In rural counties where more than 30% of the land base held some form of federal protection, jobs increased by 345% over the last 40 years. By comparison, similar counties with no protected federal public lands increased employment by 83%.

And the study found that firms near parks and wilderness areas pay their employees more. In 2010, per capita income in rural counties with 100,000 acres of protected public lands was on average $4,360 higher than per capita income in similar counties with no protected public lands.…

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…All the parks and trails in and around Bozeman are more than just nice to look at: They’re main drivers of the local economic engine, according to a new report by a local nonprofit economic research group.

The group Headwaters Economics says that over the last four decades, non-metropolitan counties in the West with more than 30 percent federally protected lands increased jobs by 345 percent. Much of that job growth has come in service industries like health care, real estate and high-tech. Similar counties with no protected land increased jobs by 83 percent…

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…Public lands in the backyard are being credited with a strong economy in Montana.

A new report, "West is Best," looks at jobs, income and population changes in Montana and other western states — against the backdrop of National Forests, parks and other public spaces.

Ben Alexander, associate director at Headwaters Economics, which issued the report, says Montana’s biggest growth in jobs and income has been in high-wage service industries — such as health care and professional services — with companies relocating here because of the outdoors values.

"The state has grown its employment twice as fast as the rest of the U.S., and has grown personal income twice as fast as the rest of the U.S. over the last decade. That’s a tremendous story for a state that is largely rural and micropolitan."

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The West is best for job growth and personal income thanks to the region’s popular national parks, wilderness areas and other public lands, according to a report released today.

The study was done by the nonprofit group Headwaters Economics. In the past four decades, says Headwaters executive director Ray Rasker, rural western counties with more than 30 percent federally protected lands increased jobs by 345 percent.

"Compare that to counties with no protected lands; they grew 83 percent. So, the growth is almost three times faster for counties with protected areas."

Rasker says the study shows that entrepreneurs and America’s most talented workers are choosing to live in places where they can enjoy outdoor recreation and quality of life. The western job growth was mostly in health care, real estate, high tech and finance, creating more than 19 million new jobs, many of them high-paying.…

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A new report finds Western states grew more jobs at nearly double the rate of the rest of the nation over the last four decades—and the access to high-quality outdoor opportunities on public lands is a factor driving that growth. Ben Alexander with Headwaters Economics says their new “West Is Best” report finds almost all of the job growth in Western States has been in the high-wage service industry, and he says Utah is leading the pack. Listen (1:07):

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By Ray Rasker, Headwaters Economics— The struggle of American settlers to overcome the occasional ravages of Mother Nature — floods, hurricanes, wildfires, and other massive natural events — is an enduring legacy and part of our national heritage.

For many years, the sparse population of the interior West, where most wildfires occur, meant that forest fires did not receive the same level of attention as other natural disasters.

Times, however, are changing — and Coloradans know this first-hand. The Waldo Canyon fire near Colorado Springs area destroyed at least 386 homes, killed two people, and was the most destructive in state history.

Colorado is not alone. Oregon had its largest fire in state history in July. Montana and Wyoming had record fire years, and nationally more than 9 million acres burned this year. For comparison, in the 1960s, on average 4.5 million acres burned each year. From 2002 through 2011, the average was 7 million acres.

A combination of factors — warming temperatures, longer, more intense fire seasons, a rapidly growing population — have dramatically increased the cost and risk from wildfires. Now is the time to enact sensible policies that improve safety and hold down taxpayer expenses.…

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…Chris Mehl, a consultant with Headwaters Economics out of Bozeman, [gave] a short overview on an economics report his company did for the Coalition to Protect the Rocky Mountain Front.

The report analyzed the impact public and protected lands have on the economy. The study analyzed factors in Teton, Lewis and Clark and Cascade counties and compared those statistics to statewide numbers. In general, Mehl said, the more public/protected lands in an area, the better off the economic indicators for private lands. Mehl’s survey looked at the education level of workers, number of jobs, type of jobs, earnings per job, per capita income, non-labor income and a host of other criteria.

Mehl’s main point was that if Congress were to pass the Coalition-backed Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act, adding new wilderness and a new conservation management area designation to public lands here, those designations would have a positive rather than negative effect on the Teton County economy.

Mehl said his study showed that in terms of job creation, from 1970 to 2011, he found that counties that had 30 percent or more public lands saw a 345 percent job growth compared to counties without public lands. Additionally, he said another study showed that the per capita income was $400 higher per year in counties with protected lands.… (more…)

…A 2009 study found the state has nearly 200,000 residences in its wildland-urban interface – defined by the study’s author, Montana-based Headwaters Economics, as private forestlands within 500 meters of public forestlands. Washington’s level of development in wildland-urban areas, according to the study, is the second-highest (21 percent) among the 11 Western states.

Defending homes in the wildland-urban interface is by far the priciest part of fighting large wildfires, accounting for 50 to 95 percent of total suppression costs, according to a 2006 federal audit. The mere presence of those homes also drives wildland firefighting policy, turning many naturally caused fires that might otherwise be allowed to run their course – often to the long-term benefit of the forest – into ones that must be suppressed to protect the houses.

“Only about 2 percent of these (naturally ignited) fires are allowed to burn now, and the main reason is there are homes in the way,” said Ray Rasker, executive director of Headwaters Economics.…

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…A January report from Headwaters Economics, which put the the cost of fighting wildfires for the federal government at nearly $3 billion per year. Roughly a third of that total is spent protecting private property. The costs are only expected to increase as more people move into the wildland-urban interface and the intensity of wildfires increases due to climate change.

A 2009 Headwaters report included several recommendations to reduce the cost to federal taxpayers and shift more of the responsibility to local government and, more importantly, homewoners who build in the wildland urban interface. In looking at that reports 10 recommendations, it struck me that the terms fire and flood/hurricane were interchangeable.

1. Publish maps identifying areas with high probability of wildland fires.
2. Increase awareness of the financial consequences of home building in
   fire-prone areas.
3. Redirect federal aid towards land use planning on private lands.
4. Add incentives for counties to sign firefighting cost share agreements.
5. Purchase or obtain easements on fire-prone lands.
6. Create a national fire insurance and mortgage program to apply lessons from efforts to prevent development in floodplains.
7. Allow insurance companies to charge higher premiums in fire-prone areas.
8. Limit development in the wildland-urban interface with local zoning ordinances.
9. Eliminate home interest mortgage deductions for new homes in the wildland-urban interface.
10. Induce federal land managers to shift more of the cost of wildland firefighting to local governments by reducing their firefighting budgets.…

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…”Only about 2 percent of these (naturally-ignited) fires are allowed to burn now, and the main reason is there are homes in the way,” says Ray Rasker, executive director of Headwaters Economics. “So we can’t even implement the policies we have, our fuel build-up situation is getting worse, and we’re getting more and more homes in harm’s way.…

The federal and state agencies that will pick up the bulk of the firefighting tab aren’t the ones allowing development — nor can they dictate to municipalities how they should go about their business.

“There isn’t a Forest Service or BLM person who publicly wants to talk about that,” says Headwaters Economics’ Rasker. “There’s something sacrosanct about private land that you can’t talk about.” And county commissioners? “The last thing they want to do is talk about their fair share of the cost.

“If more of the cost (of fire suppression) were borne by those who make the decisions to build, we’d see a very different pattern of development around the West.”… (more…)

The independent think tank Headwaters Economics has released a report on the best fiscal practices for states and local governments with oil and natural gas extraction. The report states, “Drilling for oil and natural gas is a high-impact economic activity that presents opportunities and challenges for state and local governments seeking to reconcile the benefits of job and revenue growth with the impacts of rapid industrialization and population growth. The rush to develop unconventional oil and natural gas resources–underway in many parts of the nation and on the horizon in others–requires more wells compared to conventional oil and natural gas, meaning higher costs, more jobs, and greater impacts to extract an equivalent amount of oil or natural gas.”

The report goes on to outline many of the challenges faced by states with rapid natural gas development, some of which we are experiencing here in West Virginia. The report also addresses some fiscal policies that can help states like West Virginia address those challenges.… (more…)

By Mark Udall, Colorado’s senior senator and member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee— From the grasslands of the Eastern Plains to the crimson cliffs of the Western Slope, Colorado’s public lands and natural splendor forms the foundation for our quality of life. For many of us, these natural features and scenic landscapes are why we have chosen to live and do business in Colorado.

Our parks, forests and public lands also form the bedrock for much of our economy, drawing tourists to Colorado and the Rocky Mountain West from across the nation and around the world.

A recent study by the Montana-based think tank, Headwaters Economics, showed that from 2000 to 2012, Colorado created more than 228,000 jobs in large part due to our natural resources and open spaces.… (more…)

…Mark Haggerty [of Headwaters Economics outlined] the condition of the economy throughout the state, explaining that the perception from the outside is that it consists of wheat, oil, timber, mining and cattle industries. But according to a recent poll commissioned by conservation groups, nearly 89 percent of Montana residents believe farming and ranching to be the most important sector in Montana’s economy, Haggerty said.

While the value of farming and ranching cannot be understated, Haggerty said that health care has in fact been the fastest growing industry in the state, followed by tourism and retail, and a close evaluation of these industries reveals interesting trends in economic growth.…

“We’ve done a lot of statistical analysis, and you can see that counties that more than 30 percent of their land base not just in public lands but protected public lands grew at a much faster rate than counties that did not have protected public lands within their boundaries,” said Haggerty. “Public lands and our quality of life are a huge asset.”… (more…)

…The mineral extraction and tourism industries have driven a wedge between “Old Moab” and “New Moab”, according to Ken Davey, an economic development specialist for the city. Old Moab feels loyalty toward the extractive industries that brought jobs to the area in the past. New Moab is generally made-up of newcomers drawn to the area’s expansive wilderness, and those who make their living in the tourism industry. “There are extremes in both camps, but most people are in the middle,” says Davey.

Today, the two industries each contribute toward the economic well being of the region, but in different ways. A 2011 study by Headwaters Economics shows that tourism and recreation account for 44% of private employment in Grand County [Utah], while drilling and mining represent 3%… (more…)

…An April Headwaters Economics Report [said] North Dakota’s fiscal policy is “unprepared” for the oil boom and that the state “stands out among its peers for providing the least direct funding for oil-impacted communities,” according to summary findings within the report.

Local governments in Colorado receive 63 percent directly; in Montana, 39 percent; and in Wyoming, 35 percent, the report found.

“Leaving impact assistance to the discretion of state legislatures is not a responsible approach to managing an energy boom,” the report summarized. Headwaters Economics is an independent, nonpartisan research group based in Bozeman, Mont.… (more…)

A new economic report touts the potential of one of the country’s most picturesque landscapes — the Rocky Mountain Front west of Great Falls — to draw people and jobs to the region.

“The more funny colors you have on the map, the more likely you are to get attention,” says Chris Mehl of Bozeman-based Headwaters Economics, referring to colors on maps that denote protected areas.

The Coalition to Protect the Rocky Mountain Front hired Headwaters to complete the study after U.S. Sen. Max Baucus of Montana introduced the Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act last year. The act would provide additional protections for 275,112 acres of federals lands.… (more…)