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PERC Reports

The Magazine of Free Market Environmentalism

Contracting for Conservation

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Volume 36, No.1, Summer 2017

For all their wonder and beauty, public lands are as polarizing as the rest of our political landscape. That should come as no surprise. After all, the federal government owns nearly one-third of the United States, including almost half of the American West. Decisions about how to manage public lands are fundamentally political, and they affect the lives of millions of people. Yet the laws and regulations governing these lands tend to encourage conflict rather than cooperation, and disputes are more likely to be resolved by litigation than by collaboration.

It’s clear that innovation is possible—and sorely needed. Thanks to the support of the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, this issue of PERC Reports explores the future of America’s public lands. It reflects the spirit of what economist and public land expert Marion Clawson wrote in 1984: “I reject any idea that we today are less imaginative and resourceful than the men and women who pressed for the establishment of the national forests, national parks, and grazing districts. We too can innovate; let us try.” That’s still true today—so let’s try.

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Zinke Rides In

Shawn Regan

But will the new interior secretary take on the federal-lands bureaucracy?

The Future of the Forest Service

Roger Sedjo

Do we need a new mission for our national forests?

The Valles Caldera Experiment

Brian Yablonski,  Melinda Harm Benson

Lessons learned from one of the largest public land experiments in the United States.

You Can’t Drag Them Away

Tim Fitzgerald,  Randy Rucker

How to rein in the costs of the federal government’s wild horse program.

Human-Wildlife Conflicts Come East

Tate Watkins

As locals clash with elk reintroduced to the Smokies, can strategies from the West serve as a blueprint to mitigate conflicts?

Contracting for Conservation

Laura Huggins

As public land battles simmer, a new private model emerges to pay ranchers to conserve wildlife.

PERC Reports: The Future of Public Lands

Shawn Regan

All is not well on America’s public lands. 

A Moral Case for Markets

Reed Watson

Why we should harness markets to manage public lands.

Should Federal Lands be Transferred to Western States?

John Freemuth,  Randal O’Toole,  Jay O’Laughlin,  Robert Nelson,  Leisl Carr Childers,  Randy Newberg,  Holly Fretwell,  Donald J. Kochan

A PERC forum explores the issue.

A Cold Day in July

Daniel Benjamin

New research on the life-saving power of air conditioning.

When Industries Love Regulation

Bruce Yandle

By walking away from the 2015 Paris climate agreement, President Donald Trump ended the United States’ commitment to reduce carbon emissions and made good on…

Why Property Rights Matter

Shawn Regan

For some environmental groups, oil and wildlife never mix—except when it comes to their own property.

The Latest

Volume 41, No.2, Winter 2022

Volume 41, No.1, Summer 2022

Volume 40, No.2, Winter 2021

Volume 40, No.1, Summer 2021

Volume 39, No.2, Winter 2020

Volume 39, No.1, Summer 2020

Volume 38, No.2, Winter 2019

Volume 38, No.1, Summer 2019

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