Economics of a Federal Lands Takeover in the West

Several Western states have passed legislation with the purpose of taking over control of public federal lands. In response to this important conservation issue, CEI worked with the Idaho Conservation League to investigate the fiscal impacts of a proposed takeover in Idaho. The results of our economic analysis reveals that the state will likely end up losing billions of dollars (conservationecon.org/#!pl/c1neh).

Oil and Gas Royalties on Public Lands

Oil and natural gas development on public lands can threaten the sustainability of wildlife and can be detrimental to community development. To help inform policy, CEI submitted extensive economic arguments to the BLM describing how royalty rates, bonding, and other economic instruments for onshore oil and gas leasing should be calculated and increased.  As part of our public service work, we are providing these arguments for the public to use and adapt (conservationecon.org/#!og/kl7ht).

Value of Ecosystem Conservation

At CEI, we place an emphasis on publishing our research in peer-reviewed, academic journals. We aim to provide the best available science to inform policy decisions.  A recent example of our conservation economics research was published earlier this year. “Valuing Type and Scope of Ecosystem Conservation: A Meta-Analysis,” in the Journal of Forest Economics, provides a synthesis of global willingness to pay for conservation (conservationecon.org/#!pl/c1neh).