— 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.
read moreof The Value of Montana’s Outdoors
These reports focus on specific local or regional economies and opportunities to advance community and economic development priorities.
— 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.
read moreof The Value of Montana’s Outdoors— Funding for Montana’s working lands, wildlife, and outdoor recreation is not keeping pace as population, visitation, and development pressures expand.
read moreof Funding Needs for Montana’s Outdoor Heritage— Investing in outdoor recreation is one of several strategies that can help rural communities thrive in a changing economy.
read moreof How Outdoor Recreation Supports Rural Economic Development— Recreation counties, especially in non-metro places, draw new residents and have higher incomes and faster earnings growth than places without recreation.
read moreof Recreation Counties Attract New Residents and Higher Incomes— Download socioeconomic reports for states and counties near Bureau of Land Management units.
read moreof Bureau of Land Management Socioeconomic Profiles— A new report highlights the role of Montana’s outdoor recreation economy in spending, jobs, and economic diversification.
read moreof Montana’s Outdoor Recreation Economy— Improving economic diversification and outdoor recreation in Bonner County will bring new spending and jobs to the community.
read moreof Economic Diversification and Outdoor Recreation in Bonner County— Best practices for balancing the needs for clean drinking water, recreation, and economic development in municipal watersheds.
read moreof Best Practices for Watersheds and Recreation— The number of western Montana homes in areas with high wildfire hazard has doubled, outpacing development rates in areas with low wildfire hazard.
read moreof New Montana Homes Increase Wildfire Risks — Explore National Parks economic impacts from estimated visits, jobs, and labor income created by visitor spending in National Park Service lands.
Updated August 2019 with latest available data.
— This interactive and background materials show visits, spending, and the number of jobs created in gateway communities for every National Park Service unit.
read moreof Economic Impact of National Parks— Explore the socioeconomic conditions in communities surrounding our National Forests
read moreof National Forest Socioeconomic Indicators— 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.
read moreof Gallatin County’s Economy, Growth, and Open Space— Outdoor recreation and the economic impact of Whitefish Trail use in Whitefish, Montana.
read moreof Measuring Whitefish Trail Use— From 1990 to 2016, the number of single-family homes in Montana grew by 50 percent, and the popularity of large lots converted 1.3 million acres of undeveloped land to housing.
read moreof Montana Losing Open Space— Review the different rates of home construction and loss of open space across Montana counties.
read moreof Montana Losing Open Space: Sortable Data— The economic challenges and opportunities in Taos County stem from being both a bustling mountain resort town, and a rural community facing long-term socioeconomic challenges.
read moreof Economic Challenges and Opportunities in Taos County— Identify neighborhoods in six Great Lakes cities that meet socioeconomic vulnerability criteria.
read moreof Great Lakes Cities Vulnerability Assessment Tool— 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.
read moreof Lessons from the Timber Transition— Western counties are experiencing a wide disparity in youth migration. While some are attracting and keeping young adults and families, others are struggling.
read moreof Youth Migration in the West— Understanding your local economy and how it compares to peers is a crucial part of community and economic development.
read moreof Know Your Economy: Tools for Every Community— National interactive map and charts show Medicaid-dependent counties and populations at risk.
read moreof Which Counties Are Most Reliant on Medicaid?— 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.
read moreof Economy Surprisingly Dependent on Non-Labor Income— Many rural western towns face economic uncertainty. This report—informed by interviews and public meetings with residents—compares Lincoln to peer communities and outlines rural economic development options building on the town’s strengths.
read moreof Rural Economic Development in Lincoln, Montana— Explore socioeconomic trends in Gunnison County and neighboring Colorado counties.
read moreof Comparing Trends and Prosperity in Gunnison County— Recent trends in manufacturing and what they mean for the people and communities of the American West, with insights for rural areas in particular.
read moreof The Changing Role of Manufacturing in the U.S. and Insights for the Rural West— This tool explores socioeconomic trends in Gunnison County, Colorado and compares them to neighboring counties and the state of Colorado.
read moreof Measuring Prosperity in Gunnison County, Colorado— Six dam removal case studies on the fiscal, economic, environmental, and social benefits of dam removal.
read moreof Dam Removal Case Studies— Survey provides information on Bonner County's trail system and will help prioritize improvements based on resident usage, satisfaction, reasons for living in the area.
read moreof Survey Finds Trails Valued Across Bonner County— While Montana is likely to experience relatively small impacts, coal-dependent communities in Eastern Montana are likely to feel the acute effects of job losses and declining tax revenue in the coming decades.
read moreof Planning for Montana’s Energy Transition— The High Divide region, recognized as one of the most intact biological areas in the lower 48 states, is attracting many new residents and home construction is changing the landscape.
read moreof Home Construction in the High Divide— Analysis shows that Bonner County’s economy has grown steadily and been resilient, despite recessions and losing several large employers, and many local businesses are committed to the community and its high quality of life.
read moreof Bonner County, Idaho’s Resilient Economy— Like many rural counties in the West, Wheeler County faces economic difficulties. It also has untapped resources and opportunities, which suggest the possibility of a brighter economic future.
read moreof Economic Development Opportunities in Wheeler County, Oregon— This updated report analyzes the economic value of public lands in Grand County, Utah and the important role that these lands play for local businesses and the well-being of the region’s economy.
read moreof The Economic Value of Public Lands in Grand County, Utah— This report provides an overview of the Blackfoot River watershed’s economy and summarizes the findings from six focus groups that explored potential economic opportunities.
read moreof Economic Opportunities in the Blackfoot Watershed— This report examines whether the Tongass Transition Framework, which proposed a “new path forward,” is working to enhance economic opportunities in southeast Alaska while conserving the National Forest.
read moreof The Tongass Transition Framework: A New Path Forward?— This report provides a way to calculate the economic impacts of natural resource restoration activities to nearby communities that should be helpful to local officials, agency staff, and policy analysts.
read moreof The Economic Impacts of Restoration in Central Idaho— This report provides an initial analysis of the potential economic impact of protecting the Owyhee Canyonlands area in Malheur County, Oregon.
read moreof Owyhee Canyonlands Hold Economic Potential— Headwaters Economics worked with the Clark Fork Coalition, U.S. Forest Service, and others to create an interactive tool that describes many of the stories behind the ongoing recovery of the Clark Fork River.
read moreof Restoring the Clark Fork River— Headwaters Economics completed two reports on the economic costs and benefits of a possible new National Park and Recreation Area for Penobscot and Piscataquis Counties, Maine.
read moreof Reports Show Economic Potential of a New Maine National Park— Report on the economy of the Olympics Peninsula and impact of the Wild Olympics proposal.
read moreof Olympic Peninsula Economy and Potential Impact of Draft Wild Olympics Proposal— This report summarizes interviews with local government and business leaders on obstacles to and opportunities for local economic recovery in Carey, Idaho from the last recession.
read moreof Carey, Idaho and Economic Recovery— The report analyzes the economic and fiscal challenges facing Deschutes County and provides recommendations to improve economic prospects.
read moreof Improving Deschutes County’s Competitiveness— The Siskiyou region is undergoing a significant economic transition. This report examines the region, counties within the region, and industry-level details.
read moreof The Siskiyou Region: Demographic, Economic, and Fiscal Fundamentals— The Clearwater Basin Collaborative is a diverse group of regional interests working together to craft a plan for the protection, use, and management of National Forest land within the Clearwater Basin in Idaho.
read moreof Clearwater Basin Collaborative— Headwaters Economics facilitated a day-long workshop on how to apply the Forest Service's new Integrated Resource Management approach on the Sitka Ranger District.
read moreof Sitka, Alaska Workshop— This report on land ownership and the ranching economy in the Okanogan Valley and Eastern Okanogan County focuses on fragmentation and turnover in large, agricultural properties and the effects of these trends.
read moreof Ranchland Ownership in Okanogan County, WA— Headwaters Economics held a public workshop for the Sequoia National Forest and the public.
read moreof Sequoia National Forest Workshops— Headwaters Economics is working with the Tongass Futures Roundtable to better understand Southeast Alaska’s economy.
read moreof The Changing Economy of Southeast Alaska— Explore maps showing homes built in the High Divide from 1900 - 2013 plus a 2023 forecast.
read moreof High Divide Home Construction: 1900 – 2023— Headwaters Economics developed historical and forecasted housing data for the High Divide based on county tax assessor records. Download GIS data showing 2013 home counts per Public Land Survey Section.
read moreof High Divide GIS Data— This report explores the question of whether and how rural, isolated communities can benefit from being gateways to large expanses of public lands.
read moreof The Economy of the Gila Region— This report explores whether and how designation of the Badlands as Wilderness would benefit the communities and economy of Central Oregon, including Deschutes, Crook and Jefferson counties.
read moreof The Potential Economic Impacts of the Badlands Wilderness in Central Oregon— This report examines the importance of southwest Montana timber to the Union Pacific Railroad line, and the significance of the railroad as a mode of transportation for timber-related manufacturers.
read moreof The Union Pacific Railroad Line, Timber and Southwest Montana— This study reviews the possible impacts of the Northeast Washington Forestry Coalition's "Blueprint" proposal for managing National Forest lands in the region.
read moreof Timber, Restoration Forestry and Wilderness in Northeast Washington— The workshop involved the public in developing a new Forest Plan in light of the socioeconomic situation of the area and how it has changed since the last Forest Plan was adopted.
read moreof Santa Fe National Forest Workshop