The Property and Environment Research Center (PERC) is dedicated to improving environmental quality through property rights and markets. A 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, PERC is dedicated to the principle that individual liberty, secure property rights, and free markets are essential to the conservation of environmental resources.
Originally a think-tank where scholars documented how government regulation and bureaucracy often led to environmental degradation, PERC is now the place where scholars refine the principles of free market environmentalism; the place where policy, business, and opinion leaders turn for environmental solutions; and the place where environmental entrepreneurs pair conservation and economic profit.
Research - Original research by PERC scholars leads to new policies and approaches for applying free market environmentalism to a wide variety of natural resource issues. Current topics of research include private conservation, water marketing, ecosystem services, Native American institutions, wildlife habitat management, fisheries preservation, environmental entrepreneurship, public lands management, and the shifting relationship between resource extraction and resource protection.
Outreach - PERC's research is widely distributed to policy makers, environmentalists, journalists, entrepreneurs, scholars, and students. In this way, it can be incorporated into the thinking and planning that goes into policy formation. It also serves to define a new way of thinking about how to solve environmental problems. Outreach takes the form of a magazine known as PERC Reports, as well as case studies, policy series, books, articles, blogs, videos, podcasts, Facebook, Twitter, as well as a stimulating array of conferences, workshops, and speaking engagements.
Applied Programs - PERC’s Applied Programs help conservationists and resource managers apply PERC's ideas to solve on-the-ground environmental problems. Resource managers include a broad range of people who deal directly with land, water, wildlife, and air resources. Typically they are individuals who have a direct stake in how natural resources are used and are interested in exploring ways of increasing the value of those assets. An integal part of Applied Programs is PERC's Enviropreneur Institute, which has a 15-year history of providing training to aid individuals in creating businesses that can broker deals with resource owners, known as Enviropreneurs.
- Programs - PERC's programs currently include workshops, colloquiums, and conferences. The goal is to fully utilize visiting scholars, students, policy makers, opinion leaders, and environmental entrepreneurs to expand the the applications of free market environmentalism.
- Fellowships - As PERC has grown over the past 35 years, so has the number of fellowships that we offer. We currently host visitors from top Universities, nationially and internationally, as well as journalists, students, and policy makers all with the goal of exposing fellows to free market environmentalism and exploring new applications.
- 2015 Accomplishments - To learn more about what we have accomplished so far in 2015, check out our mid-year update for our supporters.
- PERC Profile - The John William Pope Foundation has been a long-time supporter of PERC and our mission. Read what The John William Pope Foundation thinks of PERC's accomplishments!
Founded 30 years ago in Bozeman, Montana, PERC—the Property and Environment Research Center—is the nation’s oldest and largest institute dedicated to improving environmental quality through property rights and markets.
PERC’s publications, each designed to resonate with specific groups, move ideas generated at PERC to broader audiences.
Research is at the heart of PERC's work, with a focus on the question: What is the link between economic growth and environmental quality?
The goal of PERC’s programs is to fully realize the vision of establishing “PERC University,” where scholars, students, policy makers, and others convene to expand the applications of free market environmentalism.
PERC's fellowships share a common goal of exposing new scholars, students, journalists, and policy makers to free market environmentalism, as well as enable scholars already familiar with FME to explore new applications.
PERC continues to publish and present a broad range of research and discussion through podcasts, videos, and other multimedia channels.