Socioeconomic study to look at impact of blows to natural resource industries

The county commissioners are moving ahead with a socioeconomic study that focuses on the impact of natural resources on the health of Crook County. The study will be added to the current natural resource management plan as a supplement addressing the impact that the county’s three top industries of timber, minerals and agriculture have on growth and economic stability.

Making use of a new state program to perform the study was suggested in March by Commissioner Jeanne Whalen in direct response to the potential for the U.S. Forest Service to make drastic reductions in the timber sale limits within Crook County.

On Wednesday, Dessa Dale and Rachel Powers of consulting firm DJ&A presented their proposal to the commission. Powers outlined the six areas that will be addressed in the study and then included in the supplement.

The first of the questions to be answered will be how timber, minerals and agriculture and the service industries that support these industries have influenced growth and economic stability in Crook County. The study will then investigate how demographics such as age, education and income reflect the influences of these natural resource industries.

Powers stated that the study will also look at the natural resource industries in neighboring counties and how these have influenced the socioeconomics of Crook County, as well as the impact infrastructure – or the lack of infrastructure, such as available broadband. Finally, it will explore how the resiliency of the county has been impacted in relation to the diversity of natural resource-based industries and how recreation and tourism trends have impacted the local economy.

The two DJ&A representatives asked the commission for their input as to which socioeconomic connections are the priority. Commissioner Fred Devish responded that recreation, including RVs and motorized tourists, are important, as well as the impact of the downtrend in oil and gas and the potential blow to the timber industry, which he said is “quite concerning to us.”

When asked what changes the commission is expecting with a new presidential administration in place, and what concerns they may have, Devish reiterated that the impact on natural resource industries is worrying.

“There is a large mill in Hulett, which is a big deal, honestly, for us to survive,” he said, while Whalen commented that timber harvesting could be cut in half in this area and even hunting may be affected by potential gun regulation. Dale acknowledged that the mill is a “dominant driving force” in the local economy and the concern that its loss would remove many of the job opportunities in the Hulett area.

The socioeconomic study, like the natural resource plan, can be used in the future to negotiate with federal entities and to pursue potential grants.

“This is the groundwork – this is the baseline,” said Whalen.

Whalen asked the DJ&A representatives to clarify that the proposal falls under the guidelines for the state’s new program. On hearing that it does, she asked what the county would need to contribute to the process.

The supplement will be research-based and intended to expand on an existing document, said Dale, and as such does not really include a public component. DJ&A will provide a draft for review and comments, then finalize the study as an appendix to the natural resource management plan, on a timeline of roughly six months.

At this time, DJ&A is revising the proposal according to the feedback provided by the commission. Once it has been resubmitted, the county can offer it to the state to confirm funding.