Global changes, local actions...Managing change in rural Wallowa County
Diane Snyder
Wallowa Resources
Thank you for inviting me to be a part of the prestigious Starker Lecturer Series. I am honored by the invitation. John Bliss has been supportive of the work of Wallowa Resources for many years and I thank him for that, as well as the invitation to visit with you today.
Government subsidy programs, corporate influences on the marketplace, competition with imports, and the cost of doing business with high levels of environmental regulation are factors that influence the producers in rural America today. Americans have “Walmartitis”; they believe that the lowest price is the best value. In 2000, Karl Stauber wrote an abstract titled, “Why Invest in Rural America—And How? A Critical Public Policy Question for the 21 st Century” in which he states, “…Rural America has always been a supplier in the global economy. In the first half of the 1700’s, trees in rural New Hampshire were reserved for the English Royal Navy. The early development of North Carolina was around ships’ stores and tobacco, both intended almost exclusively for export. But it has been a long time since rural America was the low-cost producer of food, fiber, raw materials, or cheap labor. As the last few decades have demonstrated, leaving rural America to a low-cost strategy means, for most people and communities, leaving rural America.” So, will rural America survive the global changes taking place? Is there a way for rural producers to find a niche where they are provided incentives for sustainable resource management; will we be able to replace environmental gridlock that has impacted public land management with collaborative resource management; can we change national policies that reward corporate farmers and provide subsidies to systems that truly benefit rural communities and their producers; and, will the marketplace vote with their dollar by purchasing products that are of high value because of where and how they were produced.
I have the pleasure to share the story of one rural community’s actions to move through environmental conflict and find their niche in an emerging global economy. It is the story of Wallowa County and the non-profit charged with this leadership…Wallowa Resources.
About me: My great, great grandfather was on the second train of settlers coming to Wallowa County. I am a fourth generation resident of the county, living on the ranch that was my grandfather’s. My husband and I manage a small cow-calf operation on the ranch with our five children who represent the third generation to be raised on that land.
Intense connection with the land and the people, a burning desire for this place to economically support our children should they decide to live here, and a great passion for the health of the community and the landscape were drivers in my involvement with the creation and work of Wallowa Resources.
About Wallowa County: Wallowa County is a County of diverse and stunning landscapes. It includes the beautiful Wallowa River that winds its way through the valley, the rims of Hells Canyon, which is the deepest gorge in North America, Wallowa Lake with the most perfect geologic moraines on the continent, and the Wallowa Mountains that peek at nearly 10,000 feet in elevation. Because of this geologic diversity, seven of the eight biological life zones exist in our County. Over 375 native species call this place home. It is the native land of the Nez Perce and the beginning of Young Chief Joseph’s Trail of Tears. It is land that sustains us with air, water, food, spirit and culture. People have been living, working, enjoying and shaping the landscape for over 9,000 years—and it has shaped us.
Located in the Northeast corner of Oregon, Wallowa County is home to 7000 residents. That equates to 2.3 people per square mile. About 58% of the land is owned by the public and managed by the USDA Forest Service. There is not a single traffic light in the County. The nearest shopping mall is a four-hour drive away and there’s not a single McDonald’s (a fact that many people are quite happy about). County Commissioner Ben Boswell often says, “Wallowa County has freeway access. Our on-ramp just happens to be 75 miles long and in the adjoining County”.
The Economy:
Traditionally, Wallowa County’s economy has been dependent upon agriculture, forestry and tourism. The stunning vistas of Wallowa Lake have drawn visitors since the early 1900’s. Recreation opportunities on public lands are abundant.
Agriculture continues to be an important component in the county’s economy, although agricultural producers are suffering. The cost of producing food and fiber continues to increase without any residual increase in price. Understand that we in agriculture are price takers…not price setters. Retail business people create a business plan that estimates their revenue and expenses. They add to that their desired profit margin and decide what to charge for their product or service. As a rancher, I buy enough hay for the cows in the winter, take care of their nutritional and medical needs, then I take them to the local sales yard where I pray we get enough money to pay the bills. The Free Trade Agreement and government subsidy programs are, in fact, harming rural producers. Mr. Stauber also stated, “A recent review of the literature revealed not a single study supporting the efficacy of current federal agriculture policy…as a basis for rural development. This year’s direct subsidies are expected to be approximately $25 billion; there is no convincing evidence that they will improve the economic viability of rural communities.” And, he goes on to say, “In fact, current federal agricultural policies are actually hurting rural communities—by absorbing the vast majority of the resources directed to rural areas, by continuing the myth that rural and agriculture are the same, and by making it difficult for rural communities to develop new areas of competitive advantage.” And later, that “Rural America used to be America’s storehouse—today the world is America’s storehouse. Agricultural rural America likes to claim, “We feed the world.” In fact, rural America no longer feeds the world—it no longer feeds America. Today, America eats wherever it is convenient and cheap.”
Since the early 1900’s, timber was a king pin for the economy of Wallowa County. Ribbons of railroad track crossed the county to export the valuable Ponderosa Pine that built a good portion of the West. That industry continued for many years peaking in the 1980’s when more than 85 million board feet of timber was being harvested from public land alone. However, for more than fifteen years, forestry on public lands has been a hotbed of conflict. The timber wars, the modernization of the industry’s technology and the declining federal budgets have had a huge impact on the economic and social health of this rural remote resource based community. Nearly 400 manufacturing jobs were lost in the 1990’s. Of those, about 120 service sector jobs have been created paying far less than the manufacturing jobs and not providing benefits.
Our location has always been a challenge in terms of economic development. There is something to Commissioner Boswell’s statement about our freeway access. Rural development strategies often lump rural communities in a single category. Commissioner Boswell’s point shows that there is a difference between rural communities and rural remote communities. It is more profitable for a business to site where there is freeway access and a larger workforce pool to draw from. Transportation of raw product and then transportation of finished goods creates an economic dynamic that most for-profit businesses won’t accept. Our remote location is part of the reason we can’t compete in business recruitment with our adjoining county neighbor.
During the past decade, an average 14.3% of Wallowa County’s population lives in poverty and unemployment is occasionally as high as 19%.
This year marks the fourth year that all three schools operate on a four-day school week. In Oregon, school funds are distributed at the State level based on school census. The Enterprise school alone has lost more than 50% of their teaching workforce in the past six years as a result of declining enrollment and declining funds for education. These reductions also result in a reduction of the range of extracurricular programs offered. The shortened school week increases demands on the parent(s) in family households, often reducing earnings through a reduction in employment hours or the burden of additional child-care costs.
While Wallowa County has been losing the demographic sector of young families, the population remains static with retirees moving to the area. Another new demographic is calling this place home…people who are able to make their living because they bring their job with them, many of whom can conduct business electronically from their home. Along with this demographic shift comes an increase in real estate values. The cost of housing has tripled in the past 10 years with the annual wage only increasing about 3% during that same period of time. And, agriculture and forestlands are being converted from those uses. As new owners purchase large tracts of land, the management of those lands is changing from active resource management to hunting preserves. This also serves, in many cases, to further limit access by local people who had the opportunity to hunt and fish on their neighbor’s land in the past. The financial incentive for development and resale is much larger than the incentive to continue active resource manage of these private lands.
Beginning in 1999, income generated in Wallowa County from transfer payments exceeds the amount of income generated from jobs. These transfer payments include all types of state and federal subsidy programs, as well as retirement, pension, dividend and rental income sources.
The decline in the skilled workforce and the family wage jobs in the community has other social consequences as well. With the loss of benefits and more people qualifying for aid, federal health care coverage at the County hospital increased from 40% to 80% over the 1990’s. This shift nearly bankrupted the County hospital, since reimbursement rates under Federal health care were reduced in the 1997 Balanced Budget Act.
Civic volunteerism has also been highly impacted. The loss of families is affecting the number of volunteers in the community. Many sports and youth programs are suffering from the change in demographic. It is becoming harder to fill the needs for youth program volunteers like soccer, baseball and 4-H programs.
Mr. Stauber also notes, “On our current trajectory, we are headed for significant portions of rural America that are largely populated by the poor and the rich, and the small middle class that serves both groups. A fundamental goal of rural development must be the survival of the middle class. Without the middle class, rural America will become the involuntary home of the poor and the chosen home of the pleasure seekers, producing a rural ghetto and a rural playground.”
The Conflict Begins
The downturn in timber harvest from public lands began to have an impact in the late 1980’s. Tied to the frustration felt because of the downturn in public land timber harvest, was the animosity for the Federal agency responsible for its management…the USDA Forest Service. The sense among many people living in the community was that the community is made up of “the community” and “the Forest Service”. In 1989, lightening struck Wallowa County. This large storm resulted in more than 170 strikes across the Wallowa Mountains. A local logger had his crews working area about three miles from one of the strikes hitting the Canal Creek area. He radioed in to let the Forest Service managers know that he was close to the area and was going to take his crews and equipment to put the small fire out. The agency had implemented a new certification program for people and equipment fighting fire. Because his crews and equipment were not certified, the answer was no. The Forest Service personnel prioritized the strikes from this storm and began to mobilize. The Canal Creek strike was not prioritized as an immediate threat. Little did the Forest Service know, two strikes would burn together that night. It was three days before the fire fighting crews began work in Canal Creek. More than 27,000 acres burned and nearly 20 families were evacuated from their homes. This single incident served to broaden the divide between the community and the Forest Service.
One short year later, the listing of Spring Chinook Salmon as an endangered species became eminent. This would be the first of several listings to come and meant that, prior to implementation of Forest Service projects, the Forest Service and National Marine Fisheries Service were going to have to “consult” with each other. The process of consultation was not clearly defined. In fact, it took nearly two years for the agencies to settle on a process. During that time, no new projects could move through the system for approval. A backlog was building and projects being implemented on the ground were becoming scarce.
Environmental organizations were actively using their right to engage in review of federal land projects. Across the Northwest, lawsuits and appeals were being filed against the Forest Service.
Technology advances in the timber industry were also contributing to the decline in employment. Mills had new equipment that required less labor, and loggers were beginning to invest in harvesting technology, like a feller-buncher, where one machine replaced 10 to 15 fallers jobs.
In 1994, zero timber harvest occurred on public lands. All three sawmills in the community began to shut down. The mill owned by Boise Cascade was dismantled and sold. This resulted in nearly 400 wood products manufacturing jobs being lost. In addition, there were numerous logging companies that left the area or went out of business. The impacts included many other job reductions, for example in tire companies, fuel companies, and local grocery stores. And, on top of all this, some environmental groups had filed a Court injunction to stop public land grazing permittees from turning their herds out on public lands in Hells Canyon.
The community felt under siege. Uncertainty, fear, polarization and insecurity ran rampant. People were scared for their future. These types of feelings can create desperate actions. In 1995, some local people joined others from outside the community and hung the local environmental representatives in effigy and burned the dummies. A few months later, some people tried to start the Forest Service building on fire. I was not involved in these events nor am I proud of them, but this gives you a sense of the level of fear and uncertainty in the community.
Natural Resource Collaboration Begins
In response to the listing of Chinook Salmon, the County Commissioners, in consultation with the Nez Perce Tribe, appointed an 18-member group. This locally sanctioned group was asked to create a Salmon Habitat Recovery Plan. The notion was that this community cannot influence the fate of the salmonids at the mouth of the Columbia River or at the dams, but if the salmon reach the waters of Wallowa County their “hotel” is something that could be influenced.
Each stream reach, across public and private lands, was studied. Areas needing improvement, as well as, influences and threats to the health of the habitat were identified. The plan was completed in 18 months. The County Commissioners formally adopted the Plan in 1993 and began the process of implementing the plan through the County’s Comprehensive Land Use Plan.
This local planning process and the community’s preference to maintain a natural resource based economy, led Commissioner Boswell to call people together. Monthly meetings ensued.
These forums provided community members the opportunity to talk about the future. The conversations focused on creating a new way of managing natural resources. Each month, more people attended the meetings held in the back room of the local bakery. People referred to the conversations as “representing the 80% in the middle” and inherently expressed the belief that the health of the ecosystem and the social and economic health of the community are intrinsically linked…rather than being mutually exclusive. In order to focus on a new approach, it was important to understand the implications of past management practices.
The health of the forested ecosystem has been in decline for decades. A history of timber harvest that focused on serving the market that was building the West resulted in removal of much of the large Ponderosa Pine overstory. The clear grain of these healthy large trees was at a price premium. In many areas, what remained to naturally reseed the forests was low quality or less prominent tree species. I liken this to my cattle herd. When we increase the herd, we pick heifers from the calves that are the best and sell the rest. We wouldn’t think of keeping the poorest genetics to perpetuate our herd.
In addition, the value of the large Ponderosa Pine overstory trees created the desire to stop wild fire…at any cost. Smokey Bear became a national icon in the early 1900’s. He represented society’s desire to keep fire out of the forest. For many years, the Forest Service served a very important role in suppressing fire…all fire. Fire is a natural disturbance in the forest ecosystem and serves to naturally thin stands and reduce fuel loads. It also serves to replace entire stands. But, after nearly a century of fire suppression, the fuel loads in many forested landscapes is incredibly high. Now, catastrophic fire events can have a negative impact on the resource, burning so hot in some areas that the soil is sterilized. After the removal of the overstory and with the suppression of fire, many of the traditional pine stands are now converted to dense stands of small diameter fir that are competing for light, moisture and nutrients. They are susceptible to insect, disease and drought conditions. Making them tinder fuel for forest fires.
Given this history, the conversations at the Bakery focused on a new management that would blend the needs of the ecosystem with the social and economic needs of the community. Without using the word, we began exploring the concepts of sustainability.
Through this dialogue it was decided that an organization was necessary…Wallowa Resources was born. Wallowa Resources is a non-profit organization whose mission is promoting healthy lands and communities and our vision is to create opportunities in Wallowa County for natural resources stewardship, and prosperous families and to promote a broader understanding of the links between community well-being and ecosystem health. The diverse group of people meeting regularly began to talk about the underlying values we share.
In order for the community to act on their vision of creating a new way of managing natural resources, the organization recognized that there were some fundamental requirements.
Providing local leadership, demonstrating stewardship and educating people are important pillars.
Wallowa Resources’ Work Begins
So, what is “our niche or competitive advantage”, how do we conserve for the next generation while maintaining our skilled workforce, how do we influence the trends that create a community of “haves” and “have nots”…how do we survive in a global economy? With knowledge about the declining health of the land, worsening socio-economic conditions, continuing demographic shifts and loss of natural resource-based lands to land conversion and development, Wallowa Resources began its work.
First, the organization collected social and ecological data. It was important for us to understand the community’s socio-economic condition and trends. It was also important for us to understand the existing condition of the resources in the community. We looked to information from the Forest Service, reports on forest health, and an inventory recently completed by the Oregon Department of Forestry. Included with this information was an assessment of the workforce and a review of “who has been getting the work” offered on public lands.
Over a 10 year period of time, 1986 to 1996, we found that 95% of all the timber sales were being awarded to local contractors, which was great. But there had not been a timber sale in 3.5 years. Only 21% of the service contract work had been captured by local contractors during that same period of time, and it was mostly the smaller contracts. This information provided us the opportunity to couple the workforce assessment with new opportunities in restoration. We began to find ways to serve as a catalyst and facilitator of new types of work for forest contractors. That meant helping them learn how to bid a service contract, which is much different than a timber sale contract, helping to match the upcoming work of the Forest Service with the workforce, and helping to fund projects that could utilize new pieces of equipment to reduce the capital risk to local natural resource entrepreneurs. The Forest Service quickly became our closest partner.
Focusing on small research and demonstration projects was pivotal to identifying the organization within the community as well as identifying the organization’s niche. We focused first in areas where common ground could be found more easily, while researching the opportunities where conflict was the greatest.
Initially, the organization began to work on aspen stand regeneration and upland habitat improvements. Then, we began learning about stewardship contracting and implementing a program to inventory and treat noxious weeds in the Lower Grande Ronde River corridor.
Looking for ways to benefit existing local natural resource producers, the organization connected some local ranchers with Oregon Country Beef, helped get a Weed Free Hay program started, sponsored a business facilitator to help local businesses start or grow, and researched the benefits of forest certification under the FSC guidelines, moving them away from dependence on a commodities market. Ultimately, this type of niche creation and assistance is important for the community to survive in a global economy. Connie Hatfield is a friend of mine. She and her husband were instrumental in the creation of Oregon Country Beef. Connie often advises natural resource producers of their choices for the future. She says “decommodify or die.” For those of us living in the rural communities, it is important for us to find our niche or competitive advantage, maintain our skilled workforce with their children and have national policies that create incentives for generational and long-term sustainable management of our natural resources.
Where the Rubber Meets the Road
Wallowa Resources has focused attention on creating and maintaining partnerships in the collaborative process and engaging people in decision-making. Through this concerted effort, the involvement of parties previously in conflict is occurring, including a representative of one environmental group hung in effigy years earlier. The organization has scaled up to perform projects within larger programmatic areas. These areas currently include: watershed stewardship, outreach and education, business development and community policy.
Although our work has not replaced the value of jobs lost in the timber industry, investments of the organization in 2005 will result in supporting the equivalent of 38 full-time, family wage jobs, which is about 1.5% of the non-farm payroll in the County. Compared on the basis of population and non-farm payroll, this is equal to 15,694 jobs in the Portland Metropolitan Area. All at the nexus of blending ecology, economy and community….which are the components of sustainability.
Need for Incentives
I make the assumption that people value the rural landscape, its beauty and the stewards who care for it. If this assumption is correct, incentives will be required for people to maintain ownership of their land, steward it in a way that is sustainable, and create a viable future for their families and themselves.
The marketplace could help provide some incentive. In order for that to happen, people need to change their buying from best buy to best value. We need the marketplace to demand products generated from sustainably managed lands.
Our government could also play a role. Restructuring rural development programs to meet the needs of rural communities, is important. What if rural development helped to identify new types of products to be grown, or helped to expand markets. What if a rural development programs helped communities take steps toward finding their niche or competitive advantage?
Conclusion
Our collective goal should ensure that communities across the nation are empowered to identify their niche, educating the marketplace about best value rather than best buy, voting with our dollar for practices and a way of life that is valued, asking our federal government to restructure federal programs that will create incentives for rural development and recognize the value of rural areas to our culture. The example of Wallowa County and Wallowa Resources provides you a peek into the future of restructuring areas around our competitive advantage that includes sustainable resource management, maintaining a healthy skilled workforce and families, and identifying those “niche” areas that will reduce the need for direct economic competition with commodities. We need your help with the other pieces. Help promote strategies that will educate the marketplace to create financial incentives to rural producers and resource managers. Encourage our decision-makers to revisit rural development as a national strategy.
The impacts of global influences can be changed from threatening to empowering if we collectively pursue engaging in our future.