News
Outmoded industries aren’t spurring economic growth in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming – Regional businesses are organizing for the future
The secret to economic success isn’t luring a huge industrial operation to town or persuading another big box retailer to set up shop on the outskirts.
By MIKE STAR
Gazette Wyoming Bureau
Instead, robust economies spring up when communities make themselves attractive to entrepreneurs and small businesses by providing good schools, fast Internet service, airport connections to major cities and the lure of a friendly place to live with access to outdoor places that are protected and preserved.
At least that’s the case for counties in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho that are clustered around Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks, according to a report issued Monday.
The report, a joint project of the Sonoran Institute and Yellowstone Business Partnership, is intended to help stimulate an important change in how counties in the greater Yellowstone area think about economic development.
For too long, Montana, Wyoming and Idaho have relied on outdated notions about what is going to fuel a healthy economy, the report says.
Although stalwart industries such as agriculture and mining still play an important role, all of the job growth for the last 30 years has been in service and professional industries, the report says.
In some places, that means retail jobs, but in many cases it involves high-wage, high-skill jobs such as engineers, architects and financial advisers.
The economy has also grown largely on the backs of entrepreneurs with 20 employees or fewer.
"People always ask me what the biggest industry is going to be and I always say small businesses," said Ray Rasker, an economist with the Sonoran Institute and one of the authors of the report. "That’s where all of the jobs are coming from."
Raging disputes
But so much of the economic debate is not focused on small businesses, he said. Disputes rage between environmentalists and industry over mining, timber, and energy development, Rasker said.
"Everyone is tearing their hair out over a little slice of the pie," he said. "Those debates are so nasty they tend to distract us."
In fact, the report says, in 2000 less than 10 percent of the greater Yellowstone area’s income was derived from agriculture, mining, forestry and oil and gas development — less than half of what those industries accounted for in 1970, the report says.
Overall, economies of counties in the greater Yellowstone area are doing better than those elsewhere in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho, the report says.
Looking at success
"We should be looking at why those communities are successful," Rasker said.
The report points out a few key common elements for communities that are doing well despite tough times nationally.
Among them are an educated local work force, high-tech infrastructure and "quality of life" amenities such as decent schools, public libraries, a friendly downtown, preservation of open spaces and plenty of places for outdoor recreation.
Airports are also crucial, Rasker said, especially those where locals can easily and quickly get to major metro areas such as Denver, Seattle and Salt Lake City.
"They can work remotely but they can’t be too remote," he said. "They need to be able to hop a plane and see their clients."
Although there has been job growth over the last three decades, the single fastest-growing source of income is checks that arrive in the mail, the report says. "Non-labor income" such as Social Security, rent checks or investment payoffs represent 48 percent of all new income over the last 30 years.
That money turns over in local economies, especially in places where people choose to relocate — towns with medical services, schools and libraries and in close proximity to the mountains or parks, the report says.
Communities that are successful economically aren’t those that go out and actively seek a specific industry, Rasker said. It is those that create an atmosphere that’s attractive to people looking for a great place to live where they can do business.
"The whole notion of economic development used to be recruitment. ‘Let’s bring a large factory into town,’ " he said. "The new way is to position yourself to allow market to work on its own. Think what our entrepreneurs need — and then work on those things."
Rasker acknowledges that the philosophy is a departure from traditional ideas about creating jobs in the greater Yellowstone area. But based on recent success, it works, he said.
"The whole idea here is to change the dialogue on economic development rather than looking through the rear view mirror all the time," Rasker said.
The Sonoran Institute advocates for environmental causes and economic sustainability.
The report, titled "Getting Ahead in Greater Yellowstone" is available online at http://www.sonoran.org and http://www.yellowstonebusiness.org.
Copyright © The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises.
*********************
Regional businesses organized
Gazette Wyoming Bureau
The region’s economy depends on protecting the environment and preserving local communities, according to a new business group.
The Yellowstone Business Partnership, which makes its public debut in West Yellowstone this weekend at the Greater Yellowstone Coalition’s annual conference, is an attempt to add a new voice to the long-running debates over industry, economic development and the environment.
"We’re trying to bring a business voice that connects the dots between a healthy economy and a healthy environment," said Chris Pope, a Bozeman businessman and a board member.
So far, about a dozen businesses have signed on, but supporters have yet to aggressively recruit members in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho.
"It’s a forum for the regional business community to weigh in on issues that affect the environment and the economy with the premise being that the economy depends on a pristine environment out here," Pope said. "I own retail stores and that’s why our customers shop at our stores and that’s why we live out here."
Many business people in the greater Yellowstone area have felt locked out of regional issues because the debates have become so polarized, he said. The new group is aimed at offering a business perspective that promotes economic sustainability alongside environmental protections.
A driving factor for economic growth is maintaining those things that draws people to the area, Pope said, especially the outdoors.
"If the economy is based on a long-range plan for the environment," Pope said, "then our communities will flourish."
Copyright © The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises.
MATR Supporters (view all)
Sorry, we couldn't find any posts. Please try a different search.