Writing for PERC, R. David Simpson gives an intriguing example of salmon preservation: Native American tribes in Oregon considered bidding on a dam license (to change its operations in ways that would protect salmon). The result: a productive relationship with the dam owners—a cooperative effort to protect salmon. Here is an excerpt from Simpson’s paper:…
Search Results for: property rights
How to Reduce Deforestation in Brazil? Establish Property Rights
By Jane Shaw Stroup In a classic illustration of the way that property rights can protect the environment, Brazil is attempting to establish property rights for squatters who have been cutting down trees in the Amazon in order to create pastureland for cattle. The Wall Street Journal just published a comprehensive overview of this plan…
Holly Fretwell
Director of outreach and a research fellow at the Property and Environment Research Center (PERC). For two decades, her research has focused on public lands policy and property rights. As an outdoor enthusiast, Fretwell strives to enhance conservation through cooperation and entrepreneurship.
Going Against the Grain
In 1973, John Baden and Richard Stroup proposed selling off the U. S. Forest Service to private owners. In an article in the Journal of Law and Economics, they argued that commercial timber would be better managed by private companies, and non-profit organizations like the Sierra Club could protect the important environmental areas.[1] That essay…
The Challenge of Private “Seasteading”
By Greg Rehmke. This is a guest post by Greg Rehmke, program director of Economic Thinking, an organization that fosters better understanding of economic principles. Natural coral and oyster reefs around the world are considered “rainforests of the oceans,” home to rich and diverse ecosystems. Shipwrecks, offshore oil platforms, and artificial reefs teem with species…
Christians Should Be Realistic When Protecting God’s Creation
It’s harvest season in much of America, and the nation’s houses of worship are filled with prayers of thanksgiving for nature’s bounty. Calls for commitments to honor God’s creation are highly appropriate. How can we best accomplish this rewarding but difficult environmental mission? A good beginning is to separate pious but unrealistic pronouncements from prudent…
How I Became a Free-Market Environmentalist in France
By Max Falque. The managing director of ICREI, the International Center for Research on Environmental Issues, Max Falque is based in Aix-en-Provence, France. He tells the story of how he changed from a French bureaucrat to a proponent of environmental protection using private property and markets. From his essay, “Why Did I Become a Free-Market…