Report Touts New Basis Of Economy

A new study by The Wilderness Society concludes that environment and quality of life have become more important to the interior Columbia River Basin’s economy than traditional resource industries.

The report issued Tuesday profiles a booming regional economy where logging, mining and ranching are declining in importance relative to such fast-growing areas as electronics manufacturing, computer software development, recreation and professional services.

“It’s high time to bury the myth that this region is dependent upon resource extraction for its economic well-being,” said Jon Roush, president of the Washington, D.C.-based environmental group. “Large and small businesses alike are flocking to the basin, and one big reason is healthy forests, plentiful wildlife, and clean air and water.”

But Idaho’s chief state economist said the study’s conclusions apparently ignore the importance of manufacturing that depends on natural resources and the actual growth of resource extraction’s share of total state output.

The Wilderness Society study of economic and population trends from 1969 to 1993 found that while personal income from resource extraction was stagnant during the period, income from all other industries and services jumped by 100 percent from roughly $28 billion to nearly $56 billion.

But Michael Ferguson, chief economist for the Idaho Division of Financial Management, said natural resource industries became more significant in “total real production” in Idaho and Montana from 1977-1992.

“From the standpoint of jobs, they have been on the decline. From the standpoint of personal income they have been on the decline. But from the standpoint of the state’s output, they have actually increased in their share,” Ferguson said.

“It depends on what you’re looking at. But as far as being important in the state’s economy, I’d say they are very important,” he said.