Economists: Parks will bolster economy
By Jim Robbins, New York Times
Challenging the notion that protecting public land locks it up, more than 100 economists, including three Nobel laureates, are calling on the president and Congress to create more parks and other protected preserves in the West as a way to bolster state economies.
The economists also urge the creation of something similar to the Depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps, which built trails and maintained infrastructure in national parks.
“We urge you to create jobs and support business by investing in our public lands infrastructure and establishing new protected areas such as parks, wilderness and monuments,” they wrote in a letter. Such areas “attract innovative companies and workers, and are an essential component of the region’s competitive advantage,” they added.
The drafting of the letter was organized by Headwaters Economics, a nonprofit organization that studies the economics of natural resources, with a tilt toward preservation. Ray Rasker, an economist with Headwaters, cited a study by his organization that found that Grand County, Utah, home to the tourist mecca of Moab, has been doing quite well: jobs there grew at a 7 percent annual rate in the 1990s and have been growing 2 percent annually during the current recession.
“In the last 40 years, the fastest growth in the West has been in communities adjacent to protected public lands,” Rasker said. “This is what’s creating jobs currently at a time of high unemployment — we need policy that creates jobs.”
The idea of expanding preservation does not go over well among everyone. Many people in Western states see the creation of new federally protected areas as putting land off limits to mining, logging and other uses and potentially harming the economy.
The scary part is they really believe that BS and teach it to the children.
Citing the fact that these people are Nobel Laureates means nothing beyond the fact that they are politically connected. The Nobel prize means nothing. Al Gore’s got one and so does Obama. And what has either of them actually done for the world?
Over 50 California State Parks are closing. Keeping at least some
of them open could be economically advantageous.
It is fortunate for us Emerald Bay State Park is not on the “chopping block.”
Three Nobel people incognito. No names no citations. Journalism has come a long way. I read somewhere that 136 Nobel people are against this statistical nonsense. Why print this claptrap?
Heres a good idea, lets just let people go everywhere, drive whatever means of transportation they choose all over the hills or seashores or desart and open it all up for everyone to do whatever they want so that this public land can be really valuable. Yeah, lets let everyone just dump their trash wherever they want, crap wherever they want, drive wherever they want, opn these public lands. IF someone thinks its wrong well poop on them!!!
I say lock it all up and keep the humans out at all costs.
OH yeah, sour grapes to Dogwoman and Mr. Zitts for their take on people that have actually done something noble to earn such a noble title/award. What have you done???
Dear bats last,
Garbage in, garbage out. I just pointed out the article says nothing of significance and their Nobel prize winners are not even named. Why don’t you do the research to find out who these Nobel winners are? Talk about sour grapes.
Regardless of the comical nonsense of the above posts, a civilian conservation work program aimed at improving the Country’s public lands would be a smart thing to do. It would help to create more jobs in small communities adjacent to public lands. But I would argue that these jobs need to be managed by local government’s not private contractors, which as the Tahoe Community has seen many times are not local. The goal would have to be the employment of locals.
We have lots of “conservation work programs”. We have TONS of government programs, but few of them do anything more than WASTE MONEY! Government is still not the answer. It is the problem!