These reports are readable research on Montana's geography, economics, demographics, politics, land and water use, fish and wildlife tourism, natural resource law.

• Introduction to Research Reports
  
  by: Susan Bury
  Montanans have an enduring relationship with fish and wildlife but this relationship is changing.
• The Biophysical Landscape
  
  by: Tom Palmer, Information Bureau Chief, Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, & Parks
  Montana has three regions, distinct in terrain and climate, giving rise to different human and wildlife communities.
• Montana's Demographics
  
  by: George S. Masnick, Senior Fellow, Joint Center for Housing Studies, Harvard University
  A leading demographer who makes his home in Hamilton describes important population trends.
• Economics and the West's Forest Lands
  
  by: Larry D. Swanson, Associate Director, Center for the Rocky Mountain West, University of Montana, Missoula
  Internet entrepreneurs and service professionals want to live near landscapes where extraction has traditionally provided the jobs.
• The Political Environment
  
  by: Jerry Johnson, Associate Professor, Political Science Department, Montana State University—Bozeman
  coauthor: Les Lee Shell-Beckert, former Assistant Secretary of State for the State of Montana, currently Public Information Analyst, Clark County, Nevada
  A revealing analysis of three recent statewide initiatives: outfitting reform, elk game farms, and use of cyanide in mining.
• Fish & Wildlife Economic Values
  
  by: John Duffield, Adjunct Research Professor of Economics, University of Montana, Missoula
  How much would you pay to fish in a world-class trout stream? Learn about the importance of non-market values to fish and wildlife management.
• Fish & Wildlife Social Values
  
  by: Joseph G. Champ, Assistant Professor, Department of Journalism and Technical Communication, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado and Daniel W. McCollum, Rocky Mountain Research Station, US Forest Service, Fort Collins, Colorado
  See how Montana's leading newspapers have portrayed fish and wildlife against the backdrop of extraordinary social and political change.
• Fish & Wildlife Recreation and Tourism
  
  by: Cindy S. Swanson, Director, Watershed, Wildlife, Fisheries & Rare Plants, USDA Forest Service, Northern Region, Missoula
  Hunting, fishing, and wildlife viewing are primary activities for Montana residents and non-resident visitors alike—a look at the facts and figures.
• Land Use Change in Montana
  
  by: Jerry Johnson, Associate Professor, Political Science Department, Montana State University—Bozeman
  Are Montana's open lands giving way to subdivisions? A review of the data—plus, a look at the increase in water wells in growing Gallatin Valley.

  • Sidebar 1: Who Lives in the Countryside?
  • Sidebar 2: Role of Conservation Reserve Program
  • Sidebar 3: Land Use Prediction in Paradise Valley
  • Sidebar 4: Method for Quantifying Fine Scale Land Use Change
• The Legal Landscape
  
  by: John L. Horwich, Professor, Environmental Law, Director, Land Use Planning Clinic, University of Montana, Missoula
  We can craft better laws today if we understand the true impact of the Endangered Species Act and other legislative decisions made decades ago.
• The Agriculture Chapter
  
  by: Vincent H. Smith, Professor, Agricultural Economics, Department of Agricultural Economics and Economics at Montana State University, Co-director, Montana State University Agricultural Marketing Policy Center.
  Agriculture, along with mining and forestry, has been the cornerstone of Montana's economy from the very beginnings of the state's history as a part of the United States.
• Forest Management and the Forest Products Industry ( 573 KB)
  
  by: Charles E. Keegan, Carl E. Fiedler, and Thale Dillon, University of Montana
  Demographic and attitudinal changes in Montana since the mid-twentieth century have shifted a common view of natural resources as commodities more toward one of natural resources as amenities.