A Regional Partnership for Economic Vitality
City, county, tribal and state governments in Idaho, Oregon, Washington and Montana are trying to assess what can be done to help distressed resource-dependent communities in the Inland Northwest. This region is comprised of 97 counties and 15 tribes. Over the past decade a collection of federal resource management policies, and other factors, have had intended and unintended consequences on the regional economy. It seems reasonable to ask that the federal government try to help mitigate the unintended consequences of its decisions on local economies and communities. It can do this by working with communities to invest in their continued social and economic viability.
Status of the Strategy:
- Focus on the 97 counties and 15 tribes of eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, Idaho, and western Montana that comprise the Inland Northwest region.
- Focus on impacts arising from existing policies, not future policies like ICBEMP, dam breaching, or salmon restoration.
- Governors Kempthorne, Kitzhaber, Locke and Martz have given support to the project.
- A regional advisory committee comprised of federal, state, local and tribal partners in the four states is managing the project. State economists and analysts from the four states have assisted consultants in this study.
- The four-state partnership received an EDA planning grant of $58,000 for Phase I of the project: to build regional case statement of impacts, stress indicators, and needs within the region and to coordinate assistance efforts. A second EDA planning grant of $130,000, with matching funds from the four states, was secured to continue the economic analysis and construct a roadmap to economic vitality.
Elements of the Phase II workplan include:
- Complete the socio-economic analysis started under Phase I - refine mapping; conduct analysis of other economic sectors in the region, and create a milestone of federal decisions juxtaposed with the ten socio-economic indicators selected during Phase I for a visual illustration of the correlation between federal actions and region-wide indicators.
- Create a roadmap for economic vitality based on locally identified needs and priorities - The roadmap would feature a readiness matrix showing current capacities in a community or tribe and construction of a community potential index that shows the desired state for a community or tribe. The differences between the two indexes will indicate the types of federal and state assistance the region will need in order to achieve economic vitality. To facilitate roadmap construction, a CERT-like process will be initiated in Idaho and Montana.
- Implement a system for ongoing communications and outreach in the region and build a performance measurement approach for economic adjustment -There will be a series of 11 forums held throughout the region during the spring of 2001. These forums are intended to communicate the findings of this four-state effort, gain validation for the economic vitality roadmap and build grassroots support for the Inland Northwest Economic Adjustment Strategy. These forums are intended for community members, local leaders, elected officials, tribal councils and members, associations, state and federal officials and their staff.
Desired Outcomes:
- Grassroots awareness and support for this process.
- A regional socio-economic assessment of the distress being felt within the region.
- Construction of a roadmap to economic vitality based upon locally defined priorities.
- Congressional support within the region and nationally for a federal economic adjustment package. We are working towards federal funding and a request for FY 2002 and/or FY 2003 appropriations.
- Increased national awareness and visibility for a region that has been a major contributor to the overall economic prosperity of the country.
