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Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Study: Per-Capita Cash Connection to Conservation in AZ

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Thursday, June 7, 2012   

PHOENIX - Adjacent public lands and how they're managed offer insight into the economic health and well-being of rural counties in Arizona, according to a new report from Sportsmen for Responsible Energy Development.

Rob Southwick, president of Southwick Associates, put the data together - tracking per-capita incomes, employment levels and housing prices, among other things.

"The greater the proportion of conservation-managed lands, the greater the economic growth has been since 1969."

The report also tracked jobs related to oil, gas and mining - not just in Arizona, but throughout the Rocky Mountain West. Development-focused county per-capita incomes are around $30,000 a year, compared with $38,000 a year in conservation-focused counties.

Even with the disparity in incomes, the report doesn't say one focus is better than the other. Brad Powell, energy director for Trout Unlimited, says the point is that there needs to be balance between the two.

"Through the peaks and valleys of resource-development jobs, the outdoor economy continues to provide a diverse and sustainable source of jobs and economic opportunity to many communities in the West."

Southwick says the study also combats stereotypes, such as the common belief that high-tech job growth is strongest in counties where development is the focus. He found that the healthiest high-tech industries are in areas near public lands where recreation is the focus - and he says there's another economic surprise.

"Often, the impression in the public has been that the more land set aside for conservation and recreation generates lower-paying jobs in the service sector - but the data's not showing that."

The study covers the seven Rocky Mountain states, including Mohave County and seven counties in eastern Arizona.

The full report, "Conserving Lands and Prosperity," is online at sportsmen4responsibleenergy.org.


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