FREE - Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment

09/19/2018

Why is Bozeman a Special Place?

Search Forbes Magazine for Bozeman, Montana and what pops up? Forbes and other national publications report our community is in the top five or ten of nearly every positive recreational and cultural opportunity in America

"The first seminar I was invited to was on global warming and climate change. I had no idea what FREE was or who John Baden was, but the invitation mentioned some of those who had already agreed to attend, and one of them was a scientist I had got to know well, and to trust...I took his selection as...

09/19/2018

Last week newspapers announced that Yellowstone Park Superintendent Dan Wenk was fired after 33 highly successful years with the Park Service. As MSU professor, Jerry Johnson explains in our next FREE Insights, political forces were the cause. Given Wenk’s excellent record across a wide range of positions, this is a big loss. However, surprise lies only in the details. Here’s why.

"The first seminar I was invited to was on global warming and climate change. I had no idea what FREE was or who John Baden was, but the invitation mentioned some of those who had already agreed to attend, and one of them was a scientist I had got to know well, and to trust...I took his selection as...

09/19/2018

Bozeman is a strong magnet for "Fun Hogs" of any age. Skiing, hiking, kayaking, fly-fishing, running, biking, are popular. And we have many stores catering to these active people. That's how the market process works.

"The first seminar I was invited to was on global warming and climate change. I had no idea what FREE was or who John Baden was, but the invitation mentioned some of those who had already agreed to attend, and one of them was a scientist I had got to know well, and to trust...I took his selection as...

05/08/2018

The annual three-day National Rifle Association (NRA) convention ended Sunday, May 6th in Dallas. President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence spoke on Friday. Other speakers included Texas Governor Greg Abbott and U.S. Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn. These speakers indicate the NRA's resilient power and influence. Attendance in Dallas reported to be about 80,000.* I believe this convention will mark the zenith of NRA’s influence.

This FREE Insight and the next discuss the organization’s success. The third in the series predicts the NRA will soon begin a decline in influence. These essays all recognize that people’s positions on private gun ownership are cultural and demographic; they are largely immune to data and logic.

The annual three-day National Rifle Association (NRA) convention ended Sunday, May 6th in Dallas. President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence spoke on Friday. Other speakers included Texas Governor Greg Abbott and U.S. Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn. These speakers indicate the NRA's resilient....

05/03/2018

Hundreds of elk winter on our place and neighbors’ ranches. We admire and enjoy these beautiful animals. We love to watch them on our hills a mile back and when they parade single file on the south side of our portion of the privately built and managed Kleinschmidt Canal.

These elk are just 300 yards from our deck, well within range of a 308 or 7mm.* However, elk in such large numbers are extremely expensive to farmers and ranchers and only they bear the costs.

"The first seminar I was invited to was on global warming and climate change. I had no idea what FREE was or who John Baden was, but the invitation mentioned some of those who had already agreed to attend, and one of them was a scientist I had got to know well, and to trust...I took his selection as...

05/03/2018

Here is a true, empirical, universal generalization: Well off people enjoy seeing big numbers of large wild animals in natural settings. This applies to the Serengeti Plains, Yellowstone Park, farms, and ranches that attract these animals in large numbers.

"The first seminar I was invited to was on global warming and climate change. I had no idea what FREE was or who John Baden was, but the invitation mentioned some of those who had already agreed to attend, and one of them was a scientist I had got to know well, and to trust...I took his selection as...

05/03/2018

Government is better as a monitor than a manager. Why? With active management comes rent-seeking. Governments should protect common pool resources, constrain negative externalities, and foster positive spillovers. I've learned to expect mischief and environmental plunder to follow when politics determine resource management.

"The first seminar I was invited to was on global warming and climate change. I had no idea what FREE was or who John Baden was, but the invitation mentioned some of those who had already agreed to attend, and one of them was a scientist I had got to know well, and to trust...I took his selection as...

03/06/2018

Diana, a Romanian friend, recently queried me about guns. She asked, "We were discussing the idea of arming school teachers and were wondering what is your take on that issue?" Here is my answer to her.

"The first seminar I was invited to was on global warming and climate change. I had no idea what FREE was or who John Baden was, but the invitation mentioned some of those who had already agreed to attend, and one of them was a scientist I had got to know well, and to trust...I took his selection as...

01/30/2018

"Doesn't it worry you that a lot of people in Montana have guns?"
"Actually no," I responded, "it's like churches. Even people who are not religious prefer living in a well churched community. Likewise with guns. Many who aren't armed like to live among friends and good neighbors who are."

The Ladies for Liberty programs combine fi****ms training with a classical liberal arts education. Handgun safety, functionality, an operation are taught in conjunction with the fundamentals of clay target shooting.

"The first seminar I was invited to was on global warming and climate change. I had no idea what FREE was or who John Baden was, but the invitation mentioned some of those who had already agreed to attend, and one of them was a scientist I had got to know well, and to trust...I took his selection as...

01/04/2018

You never know what you'll see on the road to Cooke City (photo by NPS/Angela Bohlke).

01/04/2018

Here is good news for the New Year; health is contagious. Healthy people consort with their likes and good behaviors are reinforced. This applies to fitness, eating, and avoiding addictive attractions. Naturally, runners don't hang out with smokers--an increasing rare category. Ever seen someone smoking at a triathlon, or even a 10K fun run?