摘要：Regional economic impact models are important tools used to analyze the impacts of policy changes to regional, state, county,or local economies. The National Environmental Policy Act requires economic analysis in preparing environmental impactstatements to show the effects of policy alternatives on local economies. An input-output model was constructed for OwyheeCounty, Idaho, using farm- and ranch-level economic information to modify and "localize" the county IMPLAN model. Thispaper shows why an "out-of-the-box" model might not always be the best way to accurately account for economic impacts ofpolicy changes on communities dependent on ranching and federal grazing. Results show that disparities exist between thehybrid model built for Owyhee County and an IMPLAN model of Owyhee County. Alternative grazing policy scenariosanalyzed in the Owyhee Resource Management Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement are used to show and compareresults between the two models.
