Lookout Mountain Analysis (LMA) can provide many services to aid in the
evaluation of natural resource issues. Some examples of particular types of
services are shown below.
Financial analysis of the projects by LMA identifies areas of significant
economic, environmental, or socioeconomic risk. If these risks are noted
early, concerned parties have a greater chance of working with sponsoring
companies and agencies overseeing the project to help mitigate these risks.
Some large natural resource projects are undertaken to fulfill regional
or national policy goals. While these policy goals may be laudable, in many
instances the proposed government actions associated with these policies may
be viewed as misguided or counter-productive. In some cases the government
policies may be shown to benefit private interests more than public
interests.
Throughout the U.S. there are many projects designed to produce natural
resources on public lands. These production activities may be relatively
compatible or at odds with conserving other natural values on the same
public lands. LMA can critically review these projects to determine
their full merits and impacts.
Most natural resource projects on federal or state lands require
environmental impact studies. Federal examples of these types of studies are
the Environmental Impact Study (EIS) and the Environmental Assessment
(EA).
At no other time are natural resource projects subjected to greater public
scrutiny than during the environmental evaluation stage. During the
environmental report preparation period concerned and affected parties have
their greatest opportunity for direct input and influence.
Natural resource projects on public lands can have wide-ranging impacts on
the communities nearby. Project boosters often cite the potential benefits of
these activities such as job creation, tax payments, and infrastructure
creation. Potential negative impacts are not always given the same scrutiny as
project benefits. Examples of some of these project impacts are in-migration
of unsuccessful job seekers, increased traffic, and other demands on rural
infrastructure.
In most instances socioeconomic impact reports are required from natural
resource project sponsors. LMA can critically evaluate the expected positive
and negative impacts from the perspective of locally affected communities
and helps ensure that the proposed project receives a balanced evaluation.
In venues ranging from courtrooms and lawyers offices to Congressional
hearing rooms LMA provides expert opinions. The firm has extensive
professional expertise dealing with many topics ranging from valuation of
energy and mineral properties to the structuring of comprehensive and
reasonable bonding requirements. If LMA does not have the appropriate
expertise the firm can usually find ones that do through its extensive
network of natural resource experts.
Lookout Mountain Analysis has capabilities in addition to those cited
above. For example, one LMA project assesses the adequacy of the U.S. oil
and gas resources under different price and cost assumptions. Other
assignments have projected residential vacancy rates and home prices in the
vicinity of a proposed mine and examined the supply and demand of some
commodities to determine whether the price might be expected to rise or
fall--a critical determinant of a proposed mine's future profitability.
