What is FME?

Free Market Environmentalism (FME) is an approach to environmental problems that is based on the following tenets:

• Private property rights encourage stewardship of resources.
• Market incentives spur individuals to improve environmental quality.
• Government control and subsidies often degrade the environment.
• Polluters should be liable for the harm they cause to others.

FME has allowed PERC to view problems through a different lens, and as a result, challenge conventional ways of thinking about the environment and spur common-sense solutions such as:

• Individual Fishing Quotas (IFQs) - PERC championed the successful approach to eliminating overfishing (see www.ifqs forfisheries.org).
• Realistic Park Fees - PERC promoted the concept that national and state parks should keep and reinvest a portion of their visitors' fees rather than have fees diverted to Washington D.C. for reappropriation. The federal government adopted this method with its fee program.
•  Water Marketing- PERC prompted state and federal policy changes that made it possible for water rights holders to leave water in streams to enhance flows for fish and wildlife.
• Trusts for the Environment- PERC advocated that environmentally unique lands be managed by a financially self-sufficient trust with a board of trustees accountable for its actions. Fiscal and environmental accountability are key ingredients of PERC approaches. This concept has been officially adopted in areas such as the Presidio National Park.
• Forestry Management - Federal forest management is political not science-based. As a result forests have have been ravaged by wildfire and devastated by insect infestations. Devolving management to a the local forest supervisor rather than relying on bureaucrats in Washington would benefit all of our national forests.