MP748: Public Conservation Land and Economic Growth in the Northern Forest Region

Authors

David Lewis
Andrew J. Plantinga

Files

Description

This publication analyzes the impact of publicly owned conservation lands on employment and population growth in the Northern Forest region, defined for the purposes of this study as a group of 92 non-metropolitan counties stretching from Maine to northern Minnesota. The principal objective is to determine if there is a systematic relationship between the share of the land base in public conservation uses and employment growth and net migration rates in Northern Forest counties. The main finding is that public conservation lands had little effect on the growth of local economies over the period 1990 to 1997. Net migration rates were systematically higher in counties with more conservation lands, but the effects were relatively small. The authors found that conservation lands had no systematic effect on employment growth over the 1990 to 1997 period.

Document Type

Article

Rights and Access Note

Rights assessment remains the responsibility of the researcher. No known restrictions on publication.

Volume

748

Publication Date

1-2001

Publisher

Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station

City

Orono, Maine 04469, USA

Keywords

public lands, land use economics

Disciplines

Agricultural and Resource Economics | Economics | Environmental Policy | Growth and Development

Recommended Citation

Lewis, David, and Andrew J. Plantinga. 2001. Public conservation land and economic growth in the northern forest region. Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station Miscellaneous Publication 748.