Mountain regions around the globe provide numerous ecological and economic services such as drinking water for lowlands; natural resources that are used in agriculture, forestry, and mining; recreation and scenic beauty; wildlife habitats; carbon sequestration and biodiversity (Daily et al., 1997; Baron et al., 2002; Schröter et al., 2005; Naidoo et al., 2008). Many are undergoing shifts away from traditional land uses due to changing economics and/or societal demands. Natural hazards play an important role in their dynamics (McGuire, 2008, Kurz et al. 2008). Here we explore similarities between the Alps, the Carpathian Mountains, and the central part of Rocky Mountains in the western U.S., in order to evaluate whether experi- ences in land management in one region can be applied to the other region. The expectation is that potential pitfalls can be avoided and successful examples can be transferred.