The western United States is home to almost 460 million acres of federally protected lands. Much of this land exists as wild, natural land; these places enhance ecological quality and offer a variety of recreational opportunities. Local economies can benefit in many ways from the presence of these public wildlands. In addition to tourism, these lands attract businesses and professionals that seek quality environments. This thesis hypothesizes that the quantity of protected lands in a county is positively related to growth in population, income, employment, and establishments. Unlike previous research that has focused only on rural areas, this paper will evaluate this relationship in more urban areas as well. This link is analyzed using economic and land coverage data to derive Ordinary Least Squards (OLS) regression equations. This investigation reveals significant positive relationships between protected lands and economic vitality in local communities.