Western Public Lands Touted as Economic Engine
Monday, December 5, 2011
PHOENIX - Failure to protect Western national parks, monuments and wilderness areas will cost the Rocky Mountain region its competitive economic edge. That's the stark message in a letter to President Obama from more than 100 economists and academics.
Ray Rasker of Headwaters Economics is one of the letter's signers.
"What we're saying is that the role of protected public lands goes far beyond just attracting tourists. It really has become a magnet that attracts business and entrepreneurship. And that that's what needs to be added to the dialogue right now."
Rasker says companies in many Western communities are using the lure of beautiful nearby public lands to help recruit highly-talented employees. The letter urges the President to increase protection and further expand public lands in the West.
Paul Hedger, president of the Arizona Association of Bed and Breakfast Inns, says the recent ban on new uranium mining near the Grand Canyon is a good example of what needs to happen. He says the potential damage to scenic public lands in the area and the resulting economic impact is not worth the relatively small number of jobs that the mines would create.
"Common sense tells you that you've got something that is unique, that is irreplaceable. Why risk it?"
Walt Hecox with the Colorado College State of the Rockies project also signed the letter to the President. He says it's time for people in the West to become active and raise concerns about energy development on public lands, because we have only one chance to do it right.
"My biggest worry now is the discussion in Congress that we ought to sell off the federal lands to solve the debt. I think that in the frenzy of the election, this is the worst possible time to do something that is at the very heart of the Rockies region."
The letter to the President says entrepreneurs are increasingly basing their business location decisions on quality-of-life factors, such as the wide-open spaces and scenic vistas in the West.
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