A Case Study for the Inland Northwest Economic Adjustment Strategy
City of Grangeville, Population: 3,666
143 jobs lost due to the closure of the Idapine mill
County-wide economic decline is also affecting Grangeville in its role as a regional supplier of goods and services
Community projects include downtown revitalization and workforce training, construction of a visitor's center and improvement to the city water system
Grangeville is participating in an initiative to develop a straw-based particle board plant Idaho County
County Seat: Grangeville
Area: 5.4 million acres
Total Population: 15,511
Percent Below Poverty
Level: 17.6%
Grangeville
Population: 3666
Area: 216 square miles
Outlying Cities:
Kooskia: 675
Riggins: 410
Stites: 226
Ferdinand: 145
Whitebird: 106
Background
Grangeville is located in North Central Idaho on Highway 95 and is the Gateway to five wilderness areas and four national forests totaling 5 1/2 million acres. Grangeville sits in one of the country's largest counties, Idaho County, which stretches from Oregon to Montana. Grangeville is the major community in the Camas Prairie, which is productive farmland: wheat, canola, peas and other crops flourish in the rich soils. The Nez Perce National Forest (4.5 million acres) is located in Idaho County. The landscape is diverse and beautiful with six wild and scenic rivers. Wildlife can be seen all over the county lands.
The closure of the Idapine mill had a traumatic effect on the economy of Grangeville, and the general economic decline of the county has affected the town as well. Grangeville sits near the geographic center of its primary trade area, Idaho County. In terms of physical area, Idaho County is the largest in the state of Idaho. Grangeville is the largest of the county's towns. Located on Highway 95, the main north-south highway in the state, Grangeville is situated 73 miles south of Lewiston (population 28,082) and 197 miles north of Boise, the state capital-the town is well-positioned to serve as a regional shopping center. However, the general economic decline in the wood-industry based towns of the county has affected Grangeville's businesses severely. Idaho County's main industry is lumber/wood manufacturing, which employs ten percent of the work force. Other manufacturing and mining make up five percent of the jobs. The majority of workers are in government: twenty-five percent in government administration and ten percent in government education. The remaining workforce is twenty-one percent trade, retail and wholesale, thirteen percent service, six percent construction, four percent transportation and four percent finance.
Grangeville is wrestling with the decline of timber-oriented jobs and the reduction of the number of persons needed to work in agriculture. The Nez Perce National Forest Headquarters is located in Grangeville, and the number of government forest management jobs based in Grangeville has not declined. This economic base has helped soften the blow of the loss of employment in other sectors. However, government jobs are not replacing the number of jobs lost in other sectors; those jobs need to be replaced and augmented to reverse the current economic decline in the county.
Declining Natural Resources
The amount of timber available for use in industry has been steadily decreasing. Idaho County is a rural area with a population density of 1.7 people per square mile. More than three-quarters of the county is in forested land. Since 1981, wood products employment has declined from 852 jobs to 544 jobs: a 36% decrease.
- In 1994, the Idapine Mill in Grangeville closed permanently and 113 workers lost their jobs-a three million dollar payroll. Unemployment over the next ten years increased from 5.35 to 14.6%.
- Since the Idapine Mill closure, an additional 30-40 jobs have been eliminated due to cutbacks among contractors and service firms directly affected by the mill closure.
- Farm employment has declined as well-by over 40% in the late 1980's-- adding to the economic difficulties of the region.
- According to the Idaho Department of Employment, more than one in five people in Idaho County are classified as economically disadvantaged.
- Idaho County per capita income in 1992 was nearly 17% below the state average.
Grangeville Gem Community Team
Human Impact
"Don", after graduating from high school, worked at a sawmill in Idaho County. After being laid off when the mill closed, he was successful in finding new employment with a logger. However, the seasonal nature of the work prompted him to seek other employment in the Grangeville area for a more stable income for his family. Although his work experience included record-keeping skills and equipment maintenance, he was unable to secure employment on that basis. He considered starting his own business, but was dissuaded from doing so due to the complexities of taxes and regulations. Without retraining, jobs available to him pay from $5.15 to $7.00 an hour and do not include benefits."Mark" moved to Grangeville from out of state. His motivation for relocating was to find a better quality of life in a rural setting for his family. He was pleased with what he saw in the Grangeville area. Because he was a skilled metal worker, he anticipated being able to find work without much difficulty. However, openings in his field were extremely limited. After looking for work unsuccessfully, he traveled to Spokane where work was available and is remaining there on what he hopes is a temporary basis.
Strategies
In 1988, Grangeville participated in WWP's Small City Economic Development Summit. Since 1990, the GEM Team, Grangeville Economic Management Unit, has been involved in a number of projects geared toward diversifying and strengthening the economy. The team developed a strategic plan in 1999, targeting downtown revitalization, business development, economic planning, and tourism development as key areas. A downtown revitalization project is underway that will improve infrastructure as well as the streetscape. Most importantly, the project will substantially reduce a $60 million "leakage" away from the Grangeville downtown economy. Funding has been obtained to improve the city water system. Funding has also been obtained for developing a marketing strategy and for workforce training.
Tourism development has been underway for some time; a Visitor's Center was built in Grangeville to enhance the Canyons Scenic Route (designated in 1989). A current project will update information at the Visitor's Center and create Industrial Park pamphlets.
New Approaches
In addition to strengthening existing sectors of Grangeville's economy, residents are brainstorming new directions. Investors are being sought for a straw-based particle-board plant that would use both straw and wood fiber in production. The plant would create jobs as well as use straw grown by farmers in the region; the use of straw would provide an ecologically sound alternative to the practice of burning straw fields.
Grangeville residents are recognizing the advantages of working with regional support, and are continuing the development of the Central Idaho Network Association to help encourage new businesses and create jobs. The GEM team also proposes getting digital phone lines to Grangeville and opening the area to small high-tech businesses. Several businesses have shown interest in moving to Grangeville, but needed digital lines in order to operate.
Resources
Grangeville has access to a number of resources within and outside of the city. Local and county officials, as well as business people and residents have been involved with projects linked to state resource organizations. The state of Idaho is currently implementing new rural economicdevelopment programs that will support planning and project related activities.
Conclusion
Grangeville is approaching its changing and struggling economy on several levels at once. Its role as a county center means that it is affected by the economic conditions of the county as a whole. Residents are taking action to strengthen their community from within as well as to diversify the economy by creating conditions in which new businesses can flourish.
