Money to Burn
Shawn ReganAs wildfires get bigger and more costly, federal policies aren’t helping.
The Magazine of Free Market Environmentalism
What if federal regulations designed to protect endangered species actually hindered state-led efforts to enhance their recovery? Unfortunately, that’s exactly what is happening in Utah, where U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service regulations are preventing states from taking actions to protect the threatened Utah prairie dog.
The Endangered Species Act has long pitted property owners in southwestern Utah against the prairie dogs. As Jonathan Wood writes, federal regulations broadly prohibit any activity that affects a single member of the species, even on private property. The result is that residents are prevented from doing basic activities such as building homes, starting small businesses, or making use of community parks, playgrounds, and cemeteries.
The Utah prairie dog case, like many other environmental issues, illustrates how federal policies often have perverse effects that undermine the very goals they aim to promote. This issue explores several other examples—from wildfire policy to public land stewardship—including much more.
The federal government should embrace state experimentation to protect the Utah prairie dog and other endangered species.
While formal land rights are on the rise in sub-Saharan Africa, customary rights cannot be ignored.
It’s time for outdoor recreationists to put their money where their footprints are.
A decade after colony collapse disorder began, pollination entrepreneurs have staved off the beepocalypse.
What if federal regulations designed to protect endangered species actually hindered state-led efforts to enhance their recovery?
The benefits of fracking may be even greater than we thought.
How DNA indexing and blockchain technologies could help conserve rhinos.
An update on the ongoing quest to define the “waters of the United States.“