BBER PUBLICATIONS SEARCH RESULTS

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service Pacific Northwest (PNW) Research Station has launched a research initiative to improve and organize policy-relevant understanding of forest carbon accounting and fill knowledge gaps about forest carbon dynamics. There are several dimensions to forest carbon accounting, including tracking wood products flow from the forest to various destinations. More information is needed to improve the accounting of timber harvested within the Pacific coast region (PCR; British Columbia, California, Oregon, and Washington) but processed elsewhere. We examined PCR timber harvest volumes and the flow of sawlogs, pulplogs, and woodchips between the PCR and the rest of the world for the period 1990?2018.

This is a study of the economic contributions of the three facilities owned and operated by the metal mining company Sibanye-Stillwater in Sweet Grass and Stillwater Counties in south central Montana. The company?s Montana facilities, which include two mines and a concentrator and recycling facility in Columbus, jointly constitute one of the largest private sector employers in the state, whose 1,978 jobs paid average compensation in excess of $151,000 per year in 2021. The growth in the company?s core business, and the potential for continued growth into the future, merit the update to the BBER assessment of its economic footprint contained in this report. Our basic finding is that the size and scope of the company?s Montana operations have grown significantly since the BBER last studied its economic impact based on 2019 operations.

Where Housing is Headed: How Will Today's Imbalances Be Resolved? By Patrick M. Barkey
Montanans Struggle to Access Affordable Childcare: The Crisis of Montana's Workforce By Caitlin Jenson and Tracy McIntyre
The Financial Value of Montana's Natural Beauty: How Should We Measure Our Natural Capital? By Jakki Mohr and Carmen Thissen
Housing Trouble in Paradise: Housing Needs Demand Creative Solutions By Abigail St. Lawrence

Outdoor recreation in Beaverhead County spans a wide variety of activities, including big game hunting, upland game bird hunting, hiking, camping, rafting, mountain biking, and angling. This study represents a comprehensive effort to assess the size of that total economic contribution. We have gathered and assembled data on the size and scope of measurable outdoor recreation in Beaverhead County. The activities of hunting and angling in Beaverhead County ultimately produce an economy with: -451 more jobs, spread across the state in a wide-ranging spectrum of industries. -$74 million more each year in income received by Montana households. -$167 million each year in additional output. -More than 2,000 more people attracted and retained to live in our state.

Here are the top 10 predictions for the U.S. and global economies courtesy of our friends at IHS Markit:

A review of U.S. Forest Service land management accomplishments, budget and litigation since complying with the National Environment Policy Act.

Montanans use more energy per capita than consumers in most other states and we spend more per person on energy overall.

The trend in Montana''s timber harvests, which has been dropping since the late 1980s, has been the major cause of declining employment and labor earnings in Montana''s forest industry.

The purpose of the 2018 U.S.D.A. Forest Service Region 1 Social Survey is to examine: ? perceptions of the purpose for federal public lands; ? views about possible management actions on those lands; ? opinions about possible concerns regarding federal public lands; ? frequency of self-reported activities on federal public lands; and ? opinions about the quantity of services provided on federal public lands. The survey is designed to help policy-makers and planners quantify public opinions about federal public lands that are close to the home of Region 1 residents. The mail and internet-administered survey provides U.S.D.A. Forest Service a rigorous, representative sample by which to gauge current public opinion. The survey was constructed to act as a benchmark that would allow possible future exploration of trends in public sentiment regarding federal public lands in U.S.D.A. Forest Service Region 1.

What will be the economic impact of the early retirement of Units 3 and 4 of the coal-fired Colstrip Electric Generating Station?

This study examines the implications of closing Units 3 and 4 of the Colstrip Electric Generating Station early. Specifically, we examine the consequences for jobs, income, population, economic output and other measures of economic activity.

Beginning in the late 1990s, the pine forests of Montana began to experience the largest mountain pine beetle outbreak in recorded history.

Could meaningful reductions in carbon emissions in Montana be accomplished in ways that are less costly in terms of jobs, incomes and economic production? An option that is rarely included in carbon policy discussions is wildfire management.

Visitors flock to Montana for a multitude of reasons ? high among them is outdoor recreation. One group is creating a grassland reserve in northeast Montana to bring tourism and economic opportunities to the region.

Median earnings for Montana workers over age 24 are $31,800 and places Montana 45th among all states. How can Montana increase wages and develop a robust knowledge economy of skilled workers?

This report traces the flow of Oregon?s 2013 timber harvest through the primary wood products industry and provides detailed description of the structure, timber use, operations, and condition of Oregon?s forest products sector. It is the third in a series of reports that update the status of the industry every 5 years, and is based on a census of timber-using facilities conducted during 2014. Historical forest products industry changes are discussed, as well as trends in harvest, production, mill residue, and sales. Also examined are employment and worker earnings in the state?s primary and secondary forest products industry.

The Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER) at the University of Montana was contracted to conduct a study on the utilization of local contractors by the Colville National Forest through the NEW Forest Vision 2020 Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program (CFLRP) project. The purpose of the study aimed to identify and measure the opportunities and benefits the NEW Forest Vision 2020/CFLRP program is bringing to communities in the region. The BBER used records of service contracts, timber sale contracts and agreements to characterize the number of local entities (businesses, nonprofits, agencies, etc.) involved in meeting the restoration objectives of the CFLRP through the NEW Forest Vision 2020.

Look at any of the ?best places to live? lists and you will see many college towns. These small to mid-sized cities offer an appealing mix of amenities, but they also tend to offer something else ? a high cost of living and low wages, particularly for people with a college degree.

The U.S. oil and natural gas industries had a tough year in 2015. Excesses in world production, political unrest and new technologies all contributed to the variability in oil, and to some degree, natural gas prices.

This is a PowerPoint presentation of the results of a survey, funded by The Greater Montana Foundation, of Montana Statewide Media Habits which collected data from a telephone survey of 526 adults in Montana in April-May 2015. Key Findings: Television remains a key source of news and information, local news from all sources is very closely followed and highly sought after, the rate of internet access in homes now matches that found nationwide, handheld devices are used by a significant portion of Montanans to access news.

This report provides information on the agency costs and other impacts associated with litigation of forest management projects in the Northern Region (i.e., Region One) of the Forest Service (FS) through a combination of literature review, information provided by the agency?s Region One (R1) and Washington offices, and a case study of the Spotted Bear River (SBR) project on the Flathead National Forest. Data to determine the total cost of litigation are not readily available from publicly accessible or even internal databases, and a high level of cooperation is needed from personnel at various levels within the involved agencies in order to determine the costs and other impacts associated with litigation.

The federal government is a major land owner in the western part of Montana, and many communities benefit from management of these lands. Restoration and maintenance projects on national forests can provide economic benefits to local and regional communities in the form of jobs, wages, and the secondary effects generated when businesses buy supplies in the community and workers spend their wages. Federal contracting of restoration and maintenance also provides other nonmonetary benefits: enhancement of natural and human capital such as improved ecosystem function, enhancement of business capacity, and the ability for individuals and families to stay in the community.

The objective of this poster is to describe the value and types of restoration work occurring in the Southwestern Crown of the Continent, along with who is capturing that work, and provide a baseline against which future investments made through the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program could be compared.

Q&A with Governor Steve Bullock on statewide economic issues and plans for his first year as governor.

The objective of this study is to determine the spatial distribution of businesses engaged in restoration activities in the SW Crown and measure the success of local contractors in accessing these job opportunities while comparing these trends to the surrounding region, previous years, and non-Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program (CFLRP) projects.

Will what happened in British Columbia with the mountain pine beetle happen in Montana? No. However, forests are changing and will affect Montana's economy through impacts on the wood products industry and tourism.

Montana businesses are discovering that engaging in sustainable business practices increases worker productivity, reduces costs, preserves the environment, offers opportunities, and provides competitive advantages.

About 54,000 off-highway vehicles (OHVs) were registered in Montana during 2007. OHV owning households own an average of two machines and two family members usually participate in outings. Residents spend nearly all of their out-of-pocket trip costs for gasoline. We estimate that OHVers buy about 5.3 million gallons of gasoline per year. With a base tax of $0.27 per gallon, we estimate that OHVers in Montana generate over $1.4 million in revenue for the state highway trust fund.

Management of public lands occurs today with high levels of scrutiny and controversy. To succeed, managers seek the support, involvement, and endorsement of the public. This study examines trust as an indicator of managerial success and attempts to identify and measure the components that most influence it. A review of trust literature yielded 14 attributes that were hypothesized to contribute to trust, grouped into the three dimensions of Shared Norms and Values, Willingness to Endorse, and Perceived Efficacy. Operationalizing these attributes and dimensions, a telephone survey was administered to a sample of Montana, USA, residents living adjacent to the Bitterroot National Forest (n = 1,152). Each of the attributes was measured in the context of federal lands fire and fuel management. Structural equation modeling showed that all 14 attributes were found to be influential contributors to levels of trust. Results suggest that if managers are to maintain or increase levels of public trust, they need to consider each of trust''s attributes as they make social, ecological, and economic resource decisions.

In Montana, the most noticeable signals for climate change include an earlier snow melt, an earlier start to the spring growing season, and a more pronounced mid-summer drought period. In a roundtable discussion, Steve Running, a UM climate scientist, talked with economists, industry experts, and editors about global warming trends that are occurring in Montana. Industry experts then discussed what these warming trends might mean for Montana's important industries: tourism, forest products, energy, agriculture, and health care.