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Economic Impact of National Parks

September 2022

Millions of national park visitors generate economic opportunities for gateway communities, spending money that creates jobs and income. See the trends for every national park service unit.

Yellowstone Flood reveals Montana’s mobile home flood risk

August 2022

Montana’s mobile home residents face disproportionate flood risk and traditional solutions leave them behind.

The economic potential of the Great American Rail-Trail

May 2022

Through 12 states and the District of Columbia, the Great American Rail-Trail® will attract 25.6 million trips and generate more than $229.4 million in spending.

Measuring trail use in Montana’s Bridger mountains

December 2021

The Bridger Mountains with an agricultural field in the foreground, in Gallatin County, Montana.

Detailed estimates of summer trail use help show the impacts of growing recreational use and highlight infrastructure needs in southwest Montana.

Diversifying revenue on New Mexico state trust lands

September 2021

New activities can help guarantee and diversify future revenue from New Mexico state trust lands, complementing the successful Land Grant Permanent Fund.

Decreasing flood risk in rural communities: a pilot program in Three Forks, Montana

February 2021

Flood risk is underestimated in the U.S., but better maps and data are not enough to help communities. They must be accompanied with resources to support local action.

Montana wildfire risk is widespread and growing

October 2020

The number of western Montana homes in areas with high wildfire hazard has doubled, outpacing development rates in areas with low wildfire hazard.

Tension as Catalyst: Public Lands and the Rural West

March 2020

Aerial view of rural town in Montana. (Martinsdale, MT)

View a presentation given at the Our America’s Rural Opportunity forum about the context of public lands and the rural west.

Outdoor Recreation and New Mexico’s Economy

February 2020

Outdoor recreation is a way of life and economic powerhouse for New Mexico. New Mexico residents enjoy outdoor recreation on more than 35 million acres of public lands and the outdoor recreation economy directly supports $1.2 billion in income and 33,500 jobs.

Building for Wildfire Summit: Understanding How Homes Burn

November 2019

Video and highlights from an event that brought together diverse community leaders to explore practices for building fire-adapted communities.

Newsletter: September 2019

September 2019

Our latest newsletter contains research on transit equity analysis for Denver, CO, funding needs for Montana’s outdoors, a custom socioeconomic tool for the US Fish &amp Wildlife Service, and more. Subscribe to our newsletter.

The Value of Montana’s Outdoors

September 2019

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.

Denver Transit Equity Analysis

August 2019

Identify where potential bus rapid transit corridors in the Denver, Colorado Metro Area are most likely to enhance mobility and equity.

Funding Needs for Montana’s Outdoor Heritage

July 2019

Funding for Montana’s working lands, wildlife, and outdoor recreation is not keeping pace as population, visitation, and development pressures expand.

The Economic Impact of Snowmobiling in Utah

April 2019

In Utah, snowmobile use generates substantial economic activity that is concentrated in the population centers along the Wasatch Front and accrues largely to equipment, gasoline, and food retailers. Snowmobile registrations have been steady over the past two decades while the state’s population has grown, showing a decline in participation rates across the state.

The Economic Impact of Outdoor Recreation and the Whitefish Trail in Whitefish, Montana

April 2019

In Whitefish, Montana, outdoor recreation is the most important reason why residents stay and visitors come to the community. On the Whitefish Trail, 22,000 annual uses by visitors (30% of total use) generates $3.6 million in spending and supports 68 jobs.

Trail Usage and Value: A Helena, MT Case Study

April 2019

In Helena, Montana, an 80-mile hiking and mountain biking trail system attracts more than 63,000 trail users during the summer. Seven in 10 users are residents, but visitors who use the trail system account for $4 million in spending, support 60 jobs, and generate $185,000 in state and local taxes.

Association Between User-Generated Commuting Data and Population-Representative Active Commuting Surveillance Data—Four Cities, 2014-2015

April 2019

One of the primary concerns about data from GPS tracking apps is that the users tend to be more frequent recreators or commuters and therefore do not accurately represent the actual population. This paper shows that there is a strong correlation between the reported share of people in a neighborhood commuting by active transportation between the American Community Survey (a nationally representative survey) and Strava (a GPS tracking app).

Economic Impact and Importance of Snowmobiling in Idaho

April 2019

Across Idaho, the counties with the most snowmobile use and associated spending on trips are the counties with the best access to snowmobile trails. Spending on equipment, which is highly lucrative, happens mostly in population centers and not in the destination communities.

Economic Importance of Off-Highway Vehicle Recreation: An Analysis of Idaho Counties

April 2019

Off-highway vehicle users in Idaho take about 500,000 trips annually to counties away from their home towns and spend $186 million during these trips. The rural counties near population centers get the most visits, but spending on trips and equipment remains mostly in the larger cities.

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