PRESS
RELEASE
For Immediate Release
September 6,
2000
Contacts:
Suzanne Jones, 303/650-5818
x102
Pete Morton,
303/650-5818 x105
COLORADO COUNTY ECONOMIC PROFILES
RELEASED
Analysis Shows Wildlands Protection is Good for
Economy
Denver,
CO--High-paying jobs in the service industry, and not timber,
mining, and other resource-extraction jobs, are the main source of
job and earnings growth in the state of Colorado, according to
state-wide and county economic profiles released today by The
Wilderness Society. Public lands contribute to the high quality of
life in Colorado, which in turn attracts the talented workforce that
is driving high-tech industries to remain or relocate to the state.
The in-depth economic profiles of the state and 25 counties on
the West Slope are based on data form the U.S. Department of
Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis. The profiles provide graphs
and statistics of trends in income and employment for the last 25
years. Among the key findings:
- The Service Sector -- including many high-paying jobs in the
medical, engineering and computer industries -- is the main source
of job and earnings growth in the State of Colorado and most, if
not all, counties examined.
- In contrast, timber, mining and other resource extractive jobs
are a minor and declining part of Colorado's and most counties'
economies.
- Non-labor income, including investment and retirement income,
is the number one source of income in Colorado and many counties -
indicative of Colorado's attractiveness to retirees and households
with investment income.
- Colorado's economy is increasingly driven by high-tech and
"knowledge-based industries" which locate in Colorado because of
the educated workforce that chooses to live here because of our
high quality of life, including the scenery and outdoor recreation
opportunities provided by our public lands.
Dr. Pete Morton, an economist with The Wilderness Society,
explained, "We would like the debate over public land management to
be based on facts not rhetoric, so these profiles are designed to
help interested citizens and elected officials understand how their
local economy has changed over the last 25 years." Continued Morton,
"The facts show that Colorado's comparative advantage is not in
extracting natural resources from our public lands, but in
protecting these wildlands and the many amenities - including
scenery, outdoor recreation, wildlife and drinking water - that they
provide."
As of 1997, mining, oil and gas, and logging and wood products
combined made up less than 1.5% of Colorado's jobs. In contrast, a
growing Service Sector -- including high-paying jobs in the medical,
engineering and computer industries -- provides 32% of our state's
jobs.
"This information is particularly relevant as counties examine
the ramifications of proposed public land policies -- from President
Clinton's national forest roadless area protection policy to
wilderness proposals for Bureau of Land Management Lands," added
Suzanne Jones, Assistant Regional Director for The Wilderness
Society's Four Corners States Office. "What the economic statistics
show - at both the state and county level -- are that protection of
public lands is consistent with a thriving economy," continued
Jones.
Morton also noted, "Colorado's economy is not based on resource
extraction. Rather, Colorado's economy is increasingly based on
knowledge-based industries -- such as engineering, computer
technology and health services -- which require a talented workforce
lured and retained to Colorado by wilderness and our high quality of
life."
Jobs and income are just some of the many benefits of protecting
public lands. Dr. John Loomis, professor of Agriculture and Resource
Economics at Colorado State University, and Robert Richardson
discuss other economic benefits in their recently released report
"The Economic Values of Protecting Roadless Areas in the United
States." This report concluded that each year roadless areas in our
national forests generate 23,705 jobs and nearly $600 million in
recreation benefits.
Download
report (PDF; 208k)
Dr. Loomis said his findings conclude, "Roadless areas contribute
to economic growth in surrounding communities." Continued Loomis,
"Naturally functioning ecosystems, such as those found in roadless
areas, provide many valuable services, including fish and wildlife
habitat, carbon storage, nutrient cycling and watershed protection."
These findings are consistent with a January 2000 report by
Forest Service researchers that concluded that national forest
watersheds provide clean drinking water to approximately one-fifth
of the American population - a resource valued at $3.7 billion
annually ("Water and
the Forest Service," USDA, Forest Service Washington Office,
FS-660, January 2000).
Morton added, "Protecting public lands provides many economic
benefits and maintains the natural capital that forms the foundation
of Colorado's identity, quality of life, and economic well-being.
Economic development should not kill the goose that lays the golden
egg. And wilderness is critical habitat for the golden goose."
For complete copies of the economic profiles or additional
information, please see:
The Colorado
economic profiles will also be discussed at an economic workshop by
Dr. Morton as part of the National Wilderness
Conference being held in Denver, September 7-10th.
Founded in January 1935 by Aldo Leopold, Bob Marshall, and six
other visionaries, The Wilderness Society is now celebrating its
65th anniversary. The 200,000-member organization works to protect
America's wilderness and to develop a nationwide network of
wildlands through public education, scientific analysis, and
advocacy. Its goal is to ensure that future generations enjoy the
clean air and water, beauty, wildlife, and opportunities for
recreation and spiritual renewal provided by the nation's pristine
forests, rivers, deserts, and mountains.
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Wilderness Society news releases and tip sheets online, send an
email message to: newsroom@tws.org. Please type
"Get News Online" in the subject line and include your name and news
affiliation.
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