A Better Way to Fund Conservation and Recreation
Tate Watkins, Jack SmithFederal oil and gas revenues have generated funding for the great outdoors for decades, but the model warrants reconsideration.
Enhancing the Public Lands Recreation Fee System
Tate WatkinsVisitors are already helping public lands flourish by contributing revenues that support recreation. Reforms could improve management and benefit visitors even more.
Fixing National Park Maintenance For the Long Haul
Tate WatkinsAddressing overdue maintenance is vital, but the root of the problem is a lack of attention to routine maintenance.
How Personal Technology is Democratizing Environmental Action
Todd MyersReducing CO2 emissions, magnifying the role of citizen scientists, and addressing pollution that government agencies find difficult to address.
Cato Daily Podcast: Why Won’t the Feds Acknowledge that the Gray Wolf is Recovered?
Jonathan WoodA podcast on the gray wolf's recovery and the challenge of species delisting.
Cameras for Conservation: Direct Compensation as Motivation for Living with Wildlife
Laura Huggins, Olivia Hansen, Harrison NaftelFuture conservation efforts are likely to be more successful if they respect cultural norms and rely on incentives rather than punishment.
Misinformation About Trophy Hunting Threatens Conservation
Catherine E. Semcer, Dr. Amy Dickman, Adam Hart, Brian ChildBanning trophy hunting without viable alternatives would imperil biodiversity and undermine local communities.
The Cost of Biden’s Ban on Oil and Gas Leasing
Shawn ReganNot drilling has economic and environmental consequences.
A Lot of Hot Air About Offshore Wind
Tate WatkinsIf the new administration really aims to start to displace fossil fuel money with proceeds from renewables, it should be leading a charge to get rid of the anachronistic Jones Act.
About PERC
Founded in 1980 in Bozeman, Montana, PERC—the Property and Environment Research Center—is the home of free market environmentalism. Our research is dedicated to harnessing the power of markets and property rights to improve environmental quality.
Research Areas
Public Lands
The Case for Conservation Leasing
Federal rulse make it illegal for environmentalists to lease oil-and gas-rich lands in order to protect them. It's time for that to change.
Let Tribal Nations Manage Bears Ears
True tribal authority requires more than the empty promise of an advisory role.
Will Parks Receive Full Maintenance Funding From GAOA?
Another drop in energy revenues could threaten park maintenance funding.
Wildlife
Federal Regulations Sometimes Stymie Efforts to Recover Formerly Endangered Species
Maintaining a realistic offramp from the Endangered Species Act is essential to spurring long-term recovery efforts.
Regulations Won’t Save America’s Favorite Butterfly
The default approach to endangered-species policy should be to reward—or at the very least, to avoid punishing—people who provide important and hospitable habitats.
The Key to Recovering the Monarch is to Reward Private Landowners
While the monarch’s plight is cause for alarm, that the species has not been formally listed may not be.
Water
Protecting Wetlands: Environmental Federalism and Grassroots Conservation in the Prairie Pothole Region
Scaling back federal regulation over isolated wetlands reduces conflict between regulators and private landowners, aligning economic incentives with voluntary conservation objectives.
Water Markets Can Rescue the Great Salt Lake
By recognizing water conservation as a beneficial use, Utah can promote cooperation that can help restore the Great Salt Lake.
The Clean Water Act’s Permitting Process is Mired in Red Tape
The federal Clean Water Act is a notoriously complex statute, imposing federal permitting on a wide variety of land uses, industrial activity, and conservation projects based on turbid regulatory standards.
Private Lands
Regulations Won’t Save America’s Favorite Butterfly
The default approach to endangered-species policy should be to reward—or at the very least, to avoid punishing—people who provide important and hospitable habitats.
The Key to Recovering the Monarch is to Reward Private Landowners
While the monarch’s plight is cause for alarm, that the species has not been formally listed may not be.
To Recover Endangered Species, Reduce Conflict and Reward Landowners Who Restore Habitat
Recovering endangered and threatened species ultimately depends on broader reforms that respect property rights and provide the right incentives to private landowners.
Hunters and Anglers
Thank a Hunter
It’s incredibly important that we actively support hunting and angling not only because they’re a part of Montana’s identity, but because our wild places need the resources.
PERC Research Fellow Testifies on Wildlife Conservation and Zoonotic Disease Risks
Catherine Semcer testifies before the U.S. Senate on the importance of habitat conservation in preventing disease transmission from wildlife to humans.
A Pirate Looks at 40
Reflections on PERC’s milestone anniversary.
Fisheries
Markets, Not Ill-Fitting Regulatory Mandates, Are the Solution to Bycatch
Markets can overcome the technological challenge by giving fishers and others the incentive to develop new ways to reduce bycatch.
Markets and Property Rights are Improving the Environment
A podcast on free market environmentalism and its track record around the world.
A Different Shade of Green
Markets and property rights are working to solve a variety of environmental problems.
Publications
Volume 39, No.2, Winter 2020
A Better Way to Fund Conservation and Recreation
Enhancing the Public Lands Recreation Fee System
Fixing National Park Maintenance For the Long Haul
Elk in Paradise: Conserving Migratory Wildlife and Working Lands in Montana's Paradise Valley
Volume 38, No.2, Winter 2019
Prospecting for Pollution: The Need for Better Incentives to Clean Up Abandoned Mines
Volume 38, No.1, Summer 2019
The Road to Recovery
Volume 37, No.1, Summer 2018
Mobilizing Markets to Reduce Bycatch in Marine Fisheries
