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.
Public Lands
Measuring trail use in Montana’s Bridger mountains
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
New activities can help guarantee and diversify future revenue from New Mexico state trust lands, complementing the successful Land Grant Permanent Fund.
Federal Fossil Fuel Disbursements to States
States tend to spend, rather than save, federal fossil fuel disbursements, potentially making them vulnerable to economic transitions.
National monuments can boost local economies
Recent studies find that national monument designations do not negatively impact local economic performance, and in many cases strengthen local economies.
Building a Federal Land Endowment
The bipartisan Forest Health for Rural Stability Act would establish a federal land endowment and resolve key challenges of federal land payments to counties.
Tension as Catalyst: Public Lands and the Rural West
View a presentation given at the Our America’s Rural Opportunity forum about the context of public lands and the rural west.
PILT Proposal Would Help Small-Population Counties
Analysis shows raising Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) population limits for small-population counties would have increased total payments by $2 million in 2019.
State Trust Lands Part 1: The Trust Model
States were granted trust lands by the U.S. Congress to generate revenue to fund public institutions, primarily public schools.
State Trust Lands Part 2: Permanent Funds
Overspending of state trust permanent funds reduces future school funding and incentivizes sales of trust land and nonrenewable resources.
State Trust Lands Part 3: New Demands
Changing economies, new land uses, shifting social values, and political pressure create challenges for state trust land managers.
State Trust Lands Part 4: Implications for Federal Land Transfer
Advocates of transferring federal land to states point to the superior ability of state trust lands to generate revenue, but our analysis finds significant economic and fiscal disadvantages.
Public Land Ownership in the United States
Public lands influence the economy, demographics, and fiscal policies of communities. Explore maps and county-level data for the 828 million acres of federal, state, and municipal land in the U.S.
People and Public Lands Essays
What is the economic impact of America’s public lands and waters? How can we quantify how these remarkable resources contribute to our quality of life? And how are our valuation methods and public policies changing?
The Overlooked Importance of Federal Public Land Fiscal Policy
Fiscal policy reforms could substantially increase the economic benefits of public lands for states and local communities.
Getting into the Dirt of Public Lands Policy
Comprehensive benefit cost analyses of public lands policies are needed.
Democracy, Collective Values, and Public Land
A spiritual and cultural treasure and a multi-trillion-dollar asset, public land must be protected.
Rockies Region Natural Resources: The Foundation for Economy and Quality of Life – Then, Now, Tomorrow
Natural resources are still the foundation of the Rockies region economy even as it has shifted from extraction-based activities to recreation and tourism.
Non-Labor Income in the Rural West
Non-labor income can have an outsized effect on communities in the rural West with a large share of public lands.
Public Lands, Place, and Quality of Life
To assess the value of public lands, we must analyze the full array of what matters to people and consider the activities they pursue.