Tending National Parks: What would you pay?
Watch PERC's latest short film that explores how user fees can empower park visitors to directly contribute to the care and maintenance of our national parks.
Conserving Wildlife Habitat with Landowner Hunting Permits
Catherine E. Semcer, Jack SmithLessons from western states to enhance voluntary conservation on private lands.
Fix America’s Forests: Reforms to Restore National Forests and Tackle the Wildfire Crisis
Holly Fretwell, Jonathan WoodThis report recommends actionable reforms that can help the Forest Service work better with states, tribes, and private partners to fix America’s forests.
Property Rights Can Save the Environment
P.J. HillA podcast on free market environmentalism and the not-so-wild West.
Western Conservation Principles
Hannah DowneyA podcast by the Congressional Western Caucus on the importance of locally-led and voluntary conservation efforts.
Saving Western Forests from Wildfire
Holly Fretwell, Jonathan WoodWhile some threats to national forests, like climate change, may require long-term policy changes, there is an urgent need to address extreme wildfire risks now.
Montana’s Wildlife Depends On Private Sector Partners
Catherine E. Semcer, Jack SmithMontana is changing, and it needs new policy tools to conserve the natural wonders that make it The Last Best Place.
Visitors Can Keep National Parks from Being Loved to Death
Tate WatkinsFee revenues not only help manage the snowballing costs of visitor impacts amidst record attendance, they can also ensure we preserve parks into the future.
Improve Policies to Reduce the Risk of Future Catastrophic Wildfires
Hannah DowneyAfter a summer of flames and smoke, policymakers can—and must—improve policies to reduce the risk of future catastrophic wildfires.
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
Private Conservation Efforts Offer Answers to Our Environmental Challenges
A podcast discussing environmental policy under the Biden administration.
Markets Can Provide More Sustainable Conservation
A podcast on free market environmentalism and how it's being applied today.
Yearly Catastrophic Wildfires Don’t Need to Be the New Normal
A podcast on the wildfire crisis and how to prevent it going forward.
Wildlife
Public Comment Supporting American Prairie Reserve’s Bison Change of Use
PERC weighs in on how to encourage voluntary conservation by private landowners.
Transferable Landowner Hunting Tags Have Potential
Montana needs new, collaborative solutions that address the needs of landowners while enhancing wildlife conservation.
Transferable Hunting Permit Programs Can Be a Vital Tool for Conservation
PERC's latest policy brief reviews several different state transferable hunting tag programs and identifies how best to craft a program that promotes wildlife habitat conservation.
Water
Do Environmental Markets Improve on Open Access? Evidence from California Groundwater Rights
Abstract Environmental markets are widely prescribed as an alternative to open access regimes for natural resources. We develop a model of dynamic groundwater extraction to…
Efficiency Implications of Trading in a Bifurcated Market
An analysis of the frequency of trading and the causes of price dispersion for short-term water leases in the Edwards Aquifer in Texas.
Trading Water, Saving Water
Water markets help the West cope with supply-side shocks and evolving demands.
Private Lands
Public Comment Supporting American Prairie Reserve’s Bison Change of Use
PERC weighs in on how to encourage voluntary conservation by private landowners.
Transferable Landowner Hunting Tags Have Potential
Montana needs new, collaborative solutions that address the needs of landowners while enhancing wildlife conservation.
Transferable Hunting Permit Programs Can Be a Vital Tool for Conservation
PERC's latest policy brief reviews several different state transferable hunting tag programs and identifies how best to craft a program that promotes wildlife habitat conservation.
Hunters and Anglers
Transferable Landowner Hunting Tags Have Potential
Montana needs new, collaborative solutions that address the needs of landowners while enhancing wildlife conservation.
Transferable Hunting Permit Programs Can Be a Vital Tool for Conservation
PERC's latest policy brief reviews several different state transferable hunting tag programs and identifies how best to craft a program that promotes wildlife habitat conservation.
Misinformation About Trophy Hunting Threatens Conservation
Banning trophy hunting without viable alternatives would imperil biodiversity and undermine local communities.
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
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
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
