On a busy Saturday in the small southern New Mexico town of Alamogordo, nearly 100 residents gathered at a public forum hosted by the New Mexico Wildlife Federation. The topic of conversation was about how permanent protection for the nearby desert grassland Otero Mesa could render economic benefits to nearby counties.

The community discussion was a great opportunity for many of us to learn more about the benefits to local communities that comes from activities like hunting, birding, and hiking.

A troubling recent report from the National Alliance of Forest Owners (NAFO) claims that private forestland contributes more to state economies than public land. NAFO draws this conclusion by ignoring most of the diverse economic values derived from public forestland.

For Montana, the NAFO report claims that each acre of private forestland adds $570 to annual gross domestic product compared to $190 for a public acre. The NAFO claim should be troubling to Montanans because of the high profile Montana Legacy Project.