We outline eight policy ideas that would harness the power of markets and property rights to deliver environmental and economic improvements for the lands, waters, and other resources under the control of the U.S. Department of the Interior.
Privately owned farms, ranches, and forests, collectively known as working lands, are the cornerstones on which our nation was built.
As public land battles simmer, a new private model emerges to pay ranchers to conserve wildlife.
It is time to return to the BLM motto—“land of many uses”—not land of no uses.
Insurance is not only useful for protecting property; it can also help protect vulnerable environmental assets.
Using the political process to force others to further your values at their expense isn’t virtue.
Kerry Smith discusses the federal flood insurance program in light of Hurricane Harvey.
A private-property approach to conservation is superior to conservation on government land.
If the government takes the National Butterfly Center for the border wall, it will have to pay just compensation to the private owner.
Conservation easements are an increasingly important tool for protecting the environment.
Lessons learned from one of the largest public land experiments in the United States.
How to rein in the costs of the federal government’s wild horse program.
There are several ways Congress and the Interior Department could now implement formal co-management on Bears Ears National Monument.
No matter the intentions behind environmental regulation, it ultimately suffers the same shortcomings that other forms of government regulation do.
PERC and the Pacific Legal Foundation recently filed an amicus brief in support of Maine property owners.
Instead of counterproductive regulations, we need more creativity, partnerships, and positive incentives to preserve and restore habitat.
If preserving the species is the goal, free markets and property rights can succeed where regulation and wishful thinking have failed.
For some environmental groups, oil and wildlife never mix—except when it comes to their own property.
An experiment in western Uganda underscores a key lesson about how to align conservation incentives with people, wherever they may be: if you want it, buy it.
When water runs low, cooperation on the ground makes the most of it for everyone who wants a share.
It’s time to get serious—and seriously creative—about how we protect federal lands.
WATCH: Trout Unlimited helps agricultural producers leave water instream to enhance fish habitat.
Founded 30 years ago in Bozeman, Montana, PERC—the Property and Environment Research Center—is the nation’s oldest and largest institute dedicated to improving environmental quality through property rights and markets.
PERC’s publications, each designed to resonate with specific groups, move ideas generated at PERC to broader audiences.
Research is at the heart of PERC's work, with a focus on the question: What is the link between economic growth and environmental quality?
The goal of PERC’s programs is to fully realize the vision of establishing “PERC University,” where scholars, students, policy makers, and others convene to expand the applications of free market environmentalism.
PERC's fellowships share a common goal of exposing new scholars, students, journalists, and policy makers to free market environmentalism, as well as enable scholars already familiar with FME to explore new applications.
PERC continues to publish and present a broad range of research and discussion through podcasts, videos, and other multimedia channels.