Economists stress benefits of Ravalli growth policy

Sooner or later, almost every public conversation in Ravalli County comes down to growth.

By MICHAEL MOORE of the Missoulian

Witness an assessment by two economists commissioned to help the county chart its economic future.

The greatest force at work in Ravalli County today is in-migration, said Larry Swanson, an economist at the O’Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West in Missoula. In turn, that migration – which made the county the state’s fastest growing from 1990 to 2000 – has spurred the valley’s economy.

While there is room for improvement in the quality of new jobs, there is one utterly clear way to discourage further economic expansion, Swanson said. And that is to degrade the beauty and sense of rural life that brought people here in the first place.

Of the western Montana counties experiencing population booms, the ones that survive and prosper long term will be the ones that successfully manage growth and preserve their rural splendor.

"There’s just no doubt about it," Swanson said. "No doubt at all."

Swanson’s economic assessment comes on the heels of a growth policy that may still face a public vote of approval. Without advocating for the policy, Swanson urged county officials and business leaders at a meeting this week to produce both a quality policy and understandable regulations.

"If you don’t, it will haunt you," he said. "It just will."

Aside from growth issues, the assessment focused on the county’s strengths – economic and otherwise – then set out suggestions that might help the county capitalize on its opportunities.

The assessment was prepared for the Ravalli County Economic Development Authority and was paid for by a $22,000 grant from the U.S. Forest Service.

One thing the county does not lack, Swanson said, is opportunity. Unlike counties in eastern Montana, which are losing population, jobs and hope, Ravalli County is rich with promise.

"It’s hard to make something happen when nothing is coming your way," Swanson said. "A lot is coming your way."

The Bitterroot has a lot going for it already, he added: the valley’s natural setting, proximity to Missoula, the University of Montana and its College of Technology, the Rocky Mountain Lab in Hamilton, the Forest Service, farmers and ranches, a vastly improving highway system and, somewhat curiously, the self-employed.

Normally, Swanson said, a high number of self-employed people – the figure is nearly 40 percent in Ravalli County – is indicative of a shortage of well-paid wage and salary jobs.

That may be true in Ravalli County, but there’s no way for the county to know. Swanson said economic officials need to survey the self-employed – in part to find out whether there are ways their businesses might be aided – to find out precisely who they are.

As in true in other fast-growing western counties, part of Ravalli County’s expansion has come because of its proximity to a city. Missoula offers valley residents the chance to use services – air travel and a university, for example – while still living in the country.

Ravalli County economic development officials need to forge a tight relationship with Missoula, Swanson said, and be ready to think in terms of regional solutions to economic issues.

"It’s hard for one county to do anything major on its own," Swanson said.

Suggesting a sort of peer review, Swanson and fellow economist Stan Nicholson said the county should also look for inspiration and guidance from counties outside Montana.

"Any county in another state is going to be a revelation," said Nicholson, who lives in Seeley Lake.

Said Swanson: "A successful business is an adaptive business, and a successful community is an adaptive community."

Reporter Michael Moore can be reached at 370-3330 or at [email protected].

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