Economy, environment called keys to the other in Wyoming

Agriculture, minerals and timber once fueled the greater Yellowstone region’s economy, but times have changed and local communities must look for ways to foster a robust economy alongside a healthy environment, the leader of a new business group said Tuesday.

By MIKE STARK
Gazette Wyoming Bureau

But before changes are made, communities need to rethink themselves and their connection to places like Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks, Janice Brown, director of the Bozeman-based Yellowstone Business Partnership, said during a presentation at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center.

Many people living in places like Cody or West Yellowstone, Mont., know that their economies and demographics have shifted in recent years but haven’t been sure how to react, she said.

“There’s a sense that the future’s a bit uncertain,” Brown said.

The Yellowstone Business Partnership was formed about a year ago to provide a forum in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho with a basic premise: economic vitality in the region around Yellowstone and Grand Teton depends on preserving the natural environment, not degrading it.

That natural world is what draws almost everyone, residents and visitors alike, to the area, Brown said.

“We all recognize that Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks are very attractive not just for the tourists that come here but for us,” she said.

But some communities have struggled in recent years as the economies and demographics have shifted.

The population of the counties in three states in the greater Yellowstone region grew by about 60 percent between 1970 and 2000, and the landscape has seen substantial changes with new subdivisions and commercial development, according to a report by the Yellowstone Business Partnership and the Sonoran Institute.

The economy has changed, too.

While timber, agriculture, mining and oil and gas saw little growth between 1970 and 2000, the service industry has grown by 37 percent, retail by 19 percent, government by 12 percent and construction by 10 percent.

The “services and professional” sector now provides a majority of jobs in the region, Brown said. 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.

“That whole arena has ballooned in the greater Yellowstone,” she said.

While traditional industries still play a key part in local economies, small businesses have become important, she said, adding that most new jobs are created at businesses with fewer than five employees.

Perhaps the biggest change is that about 26 percent of the regional economy comes from investments, dividends and rent, Brown said, and often that money is turned over into the economy by retirees who stay in the area.

“They’re spending their money, not saving it until they die,” Brown said, adding that local communities would be smart to make sure they are providing and preserving the amenities that those retirees are seeking.

The Yellowstone Business Partnership is going to try to get communities to think about what changes they’ve seen locally and how they might react and support ideas that benefit both the economy and the environment.

Throughout the region, hearty economies will 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, according to the group’s report.

Brown said she hopes her group will provide a network between communities to share ideas, advocate for environmental protections and push for a balance between conservation and economic prosperity.

“This is an idea, I believe, whose time has come,” she said.

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