A Case Study for the Inland Northwest Economic Adjustment Strategy
County Population 33,000; Ellensburg 14,3403
Recent droughts and escalating land costs have reduced agricultural production, limited expansion - resulting in impacts to entire business community
Local strategy: The City of Ellensburg recently purchased 700 acres of land, with approximately 100 acres slated for use by industrial and manufacturing businesses
A local economic development entity, Phoenix Economic Development Group, has initiated a business incubator which could host as many as 900 jobs by 2015
Background
Kittitas County is located 100 miles east of Seattle through the Cascade Range in the geographical center of the state. It is ideally situated at the crossroads of two of the Northwest's major interstate highways: I-90 and I-82. These thoroughfares connect Kittitas County with Seattle and the Puget Sound area, Spokane and the Tri-Cities (at the County's western boundary), and the rest of the scenic Pacific Northwest. Kittitas County is bounded on the north by Chelan County and on the south by Yakima County. The Pacific Crest Trail in the Cascade Range forms its boundary to the east with King County.
The County has a population of approximately 33,000. Ellensburg is the county seat and, with 14,340 residents, the most populous city.
Kittitas County comprises 1,481,600 acres. Over half of the county consists of timbered mountainous land, and one-third is steep, rough, broken land usually in association with shallow soil with rock outcrops and scabland suitable only for grazing. Many of the 2,308 square miles of the Kittitas Valley are wide, open spaces associated with the beauty of Central Washington. The topography varies from the ruggedly forested Alpine Lakes Wilderness of Wenatchee National Forest in the Cascade Mountains and Snoqualmie National Forest, to the Columbia River.
History
The term "Kittitas" has been said to mean land of plenty. Historically, the Kittitas Valley was one of only a handful of valleys in the state where tribes could dig for roots such as camas and kouse, both of which were staples in the Indian diet.
In the early 1860s, the first white settlers began arriving in the Kittitas Valley, finding it a suitable place to conduct livestock raising, crop farming, dairying, logging, lumber processing, and mining. By the 1960s, the number of Kittitas County cattle had more than doubled, to approximately 70,000 head. Price controls and rising feed costs in the early 1970s, however, prompted many ranchers to change from cattle to hay and grain production - which has been an important local crop since the 1800s.
The county's logging and lumber industries were established in the early 1870s, fueled primarily by two factors: in-migration of settlers who needed lumber to build homes, and railroads.
In the early 1880s, coal and mineral activities got underway in the Cle Elum River Valley and surrounding mountains. Coal was first discovered by homesteaders in 1883. By the turn of the century, several large coal concerns were mining in excess of a million tons of coal annually. Production peaked in the 1920s and subsided in the face of competition from oil in the 1930s.
Even before the discovery of coal, prospectors flocked to the region searching for precious metals and ores. Efforts centered around gold, but silver, copper, lead, iron, chromium, mercury, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, and antimony were also present.
Mining activity continued at this accelerated pace until its peak during the 1930s. Interest in reopening mines has surfaced periodically since that time. Some gravel surface mining is operational today on private lands and permits are being issued by the National Forest Service for exploratory precious metal mining.
Present
Today, timothy hay is the largest single cash crop in Kittitas County, grown commercially by an estimated 200-250 farmers on between 25,000 to 30,000 acres of land. The top quality hay goes to the Japanese race horse industry, and lesser quality hay traditionally is purchased by Japanese dairies. The timothy hay industry in the county is estimated to have an annual value of more that $30 million.
Fruit orchards provide another healthy cash crop, as technology continues to create hardy and flavorful new varieties of apples and pears. Export opportunities for these crops have continued to expand.
Many Kittitas County farms and ranches are operated by second and third generation families whose ties go back to the early settlers.
For the last 110 years, Ellensburg has also been home to Central Washington University. From its beginnings as a state normal school to prepare public school teachers, CWU has grown to an institution that serves over 8,500 resident and commuter students on the Ellensburg campus.
One of the state's three regional universities, CWU prepares students for bachelor and master degrees in arts, sciences, business and economics, and professional studies. CWU's continuing education department works with area businesses, schools and interest groups to design workshops.
CWU's conference center attracts over 20,000 visitors a year to the campus and Ellensburg for meetings, conferences, and camps. Many of the high school students who attend one of the competitions or music, academic or sports camps throughout the year choose to return to Central for their college education.
CWU music, art and drama departments provide a rich variety of entertainment. Nationally recognized speakers on thought-provoking topics round out the menu of activities and events available to the entire community.
Economic Growth
Like most rural communities in the Inland Northwest, Kittitas County is attempting to diversify its economic base. In the past, agriculture-related impacts have spread throughout the community. During the drought of 1994, for example, farmers were forced to drastically cut back on the number of production acres. The loss of disposable income resulted in decreased activity for local businesses.
Dean Boyer, Washington State Farm Bureau ~ Ellensburg Daily Record
The escalating cost of farmland has posed another type of agriculture-related challenge, as increasing prices reduce the economic feasibility of expanding production.
However, innovation has provided a potential solution in at least one case. The Haberman family of Ellensburg has developed a new hay processing technique. "Number 9 Hay Processing," a technique used by the Haberman family on its 1,000-acre Number 9 Ranch, is a wrapping process that facilitates the mixing of hay with other feeds in order to develop a complete livestock rotation. The process can be applied to any size bale and is said to greatly reduce waste and potential for wire contamination since bales are wrapped in a plastic sleeve. The technique has been very popular among customers who want their product processed before shipping, and the Habermans are considering expanding the practice.
On another front, a local business development group has begun the first phase of a project to attract light industry to the Kittitas County Airport. Proposed development at the Airport site could lead to the creation of as many as 900 jobs by 2015. The Phoenix Economic Development Group, a local non-profit business development group funded by monies from the Washington Office of Trade and Economic Development and Old Growth Diversification Funds, says a few businesses have already agreed to occupy space in the building. The group is hoping high tech, processing and manufacturing businesses will be attracted to the area based on the affordable industrial land costs. Space in the future building is expected to start at 38 cents per square foot.
The City of Ellensburg is also making strides to generate economic diversification. Recently, the City purchased 700 acres of land - known as the "Williams Property." Approximately 100 acres of this property will be rezoned to accommodate industrial and manufacturing businesses. Some of the remaining property will be used for flood control purposes, and an additional 78 acres will be used to provide new soccer and baseball fields.
To effectively fill and utilize this property, Ellensburg must extend services, including power and water. The City will also need state and federal partnerships to help navigate and streamline permitting processes. If successful, the community will have made important progress toward it goal of creating jobs and diversifying its economic base.
