PERC Reports: Summer 2022
Shawn ReganThis special issue of PERC Reports explores the thorny issues of forest management, wildfire mitigation, and regulatory reform.
Does Environmental Review Worsen the Wildfire Crisis?
Eric Edwards, Sara SutherlandHow environmental analysis delays fuel treatment projects
Yellowstone’s Innovative Flood Response Offers a Lesson for All National Parks
Brian YablonskiThe National Park Service should look to superintendents on the ground and provide the flexibility to continue experimenting in all aspects of operation.
A Step Toward True Tribal Sovereignty
Hannah DowneyAn unprecedented agreement grants five tribes authority to co-manage Bears Ears National Monument.
Losing the Forest for the Trees
Shawn ReganA century of fire suppression has altered the state of our forests.
Ramping Up Forest Restoration
Jonathan WoodThe U.S. Forest Service plans to increase the pace of forest restoration by 50 million acres over the next decade. Success, however, depends on partnering with states, tribes, and the private sector and tackling persistent policy obstacles.
Turning Fire Risk Into Financial Reward
J.D. TuccilleMany public forests in need of restoration are overgrown with small timber. These resources hold tremendous value—if innovative markets can put them to use.
Healthy Forests Make Good Neighbors
Hannah DowneyThrough Good Neighbor Authority, federal agencies are working with states and other western partners to mitigate wildfire risk.
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
Returning Fire to the Land
How a renewed focus on prescribed fire can help forests from coast to coast.
The Big Burn of 1910 and the Choking of America’s Forests
Decades of fire suppression fuel catastrophic wildfires today.
How Environmental Red Tape Inflames Wildfire Risk
While well-intentioned, environmental review requirements prolong much-needed fuel treatments.
Wildlife
New Big-Game Migration Partnership Highlights Incentives for Private Working Lands
Conserving migration corridors will be achieved not by designation or regulation, but through voluntary incentives and market signals that reward landowners for conservation.
Testimony on Preventing Pandemics Through U.S. Wildlife-Borne Disease Surveillance
The conservation of intact, healthy ecosystems is the first line of defense against the spillover of zoonotic diseases.
Mountain & Prairie Podcast: Action-Oriented Conservationist
A podcast about PERC's unique approach to conservation and how markets can help address western conservation issues.
Water
3 Ways Markets Are Protecting Our Environment
Markets can save the environment. In fact, they’re already doing It.
A Broad Interpretation of WOTUS Undermines Wetland Conservation
PERC filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court on Sackett v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Empowering Tribes Can Help Address the Drought Plaguing the West
Tribal nations deserve to manage their water rights as they so choose.
Private Lands
New Big-Game Migration Partnership Highlights Incentives for Private Working Lands
Conserving migration corridors will be achieved not by designation or regulation, but through voluntary incentives and market signals that reward landowners for conservation.
Mountain & Prairie Podcast: Action-Oriented Conservationist
A podcast about PERC's unique approach to conservation and how markets can help address western conservation issues.
Can the Big Bad Wolf Save Your Life?
Freakonomics Radio: Research from PERC fellows shows a general economic benefit to the presence of wolves, but complexities abound.
Hunters and Anglers
Transferable Landowner Hunting Permits in Montana
A Roadmap for the State
A Market Solution for Hunting Access
Entrepreneurs are finding creative ways to give hunters access to private land while respecting property rights.
Transferable Landowner Hunting Tags Have Potential
Montana needs new, collaborative solutions that address the needs of landowners while enhancing wildlife conservation.
Fisheries
The Distributional Outcomes of Rights-Based Management in Fisheries
This paper provides a fishery-wide accounting of returns to these diverse stakeholder groups at the vessel level.
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.
Publications
Volume 41, No.1, Summer 2022
Does Environmental Review Worsen the Wildfire Crisis?
Volume 40, No.2, Winter 2021
Addressing Institutional Barriers to Native American Water Marketing
Conserving Wildlife Habitat with Landowner Hunting Permits
Volume 40, No.1, Summer 2021
Fix America's Forests: Reforms to Restore National Forests and Tackle the Wildfire Crisis
A Better Way to Fund Conservation and Recreation
Enhancing the Public Lands Recreation Fee System
Fixing National Park Maintenance For the Long Haul
Prospecting for Pollution: The Need for Better Incentives to Clean Up Abandoned Mines
