Natural Nebraska is an economic engine

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BY JOE DUGGAN / Lincoln Journal Star

ASHLAND — When Adam Switzer returned to his family’s 12,000-acre Sandhills ranch six years ago, he soon found cattle alone couldn’t pay the bills.

So he fixed a vacant house on the ranch to lodge a few hunters. And he sold float trips down the Calamus River, field trips to prairie chicken breeding grounds and even got city slickers to pay to work on cattle drives.

Now, his mother works full time answering calls and e-mails from clients. The cattle ranching covers the cattle ranching, and Calamus Outfitters pays for everything else — including regular deposits to a savings account.

On Wednesday, the 32-year-old rancher listened to an Oregon economist say Nebraska’s natural resources could improve the state’s economy in ways other than raising crops or livestock. The rancher said the economist spoke the truth.

“It’s there if you know how to use it,” Switzer said.

The economist was Ernie Niemi, vice president of ECONorthwest, a Eugene, Ore., economic consulting firm. Niemi is the primary author of an 119-page analysis  titled “Natural-Resource Amenities and Nebraska’s Economy.”

The analysis, the first of its kind in the state, showed Nebraska could do more to take advantage of its natural amenities.

Natural amenities are classically thought of as mountain ranges, seashores and old-growth forests.  But they’re also rivers, grasslands, reservoirs and wildlife, all of which Nebraska has in abundance.

The problem is many people don’t know about the state’s natural attributes. Those who do often struggle to get to them, while policy makers and private landowners often fail to recognize their value.

Research shows natural amenities can be as effective in generating jobs as traditional industrial development, Niemi said. That’s largely because people want to live near natural amenities, especially younger, well-educated people adept at creating their own businesses and incomes.

Yet many Nebraskans hold the view that the value of land and water lies strictly in the commodity it can produce.

“If you don’t fold environmental quality in your economic development strategy, then you are undermining that strategy,” he said.

Niemi also believes that by tapping into a natural-amenity economy, the state can reduce “brain drain” by providing young professionals with reasons to stay and keep rural areas populated by providing additional jobs and opportunities.

But doing so will, in part, require the state to do a better job protecting  land, water and air from pollution. Also, in a state where 97 percent of land is privately owned, access to the great outdoors must be made easier.

The nearly $100,000 analysis compiled and interpreted information from nearly 100 published sources. The author issued the report to a coalition consisting of the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, the Center for Rural Affairs, American Rivers, the Nebraska Department of Economic Development, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Water Center, Sen. Ben Nelson and Rep. Jeff Fortenberry.

Study partners hope it will draw attention to the idea of using natural amenities as a foundation of economic development and, therefore, inspire protection of those resources.

“We don’t just put it on a shelf,” said Don Gabelhouse, fisheries administrator for the Game and Parks Commission and coalition leader. “I hope people will start talking about this.”

Economic activity tied to natural amenities is already present in Nebraska. For example, thousands of ecotourists visit the Central Platte Valley each year to observe cranes  while restoration of the Missouri River in Omaha has prompted major real estate development near the city’s downtown.

Expenditures on hunting, fishing and wildlife watching in 2002 in Nebraska totaled nearly $474 million, according to the report. That figure could be higher if the state can encourage more outdoor recreation, particularly among nonresidents.

In comparison, sales of agricultural commodities in Nebraska generate about $10 billion annually.

The Department of Economic Development recognizes the potential for natural-amenity economic growth. Last year, the department created an ecotourism specialist, said Tom Tabor, who holds the position. In his first year, he fielded 17 requests from rural landowners. So far this year, he’s received 45.

Another message in the study is the idea that economic development efforts do not have to focus either on agriculture or natural-amenity growth, said Rebecca Wodder, president of the nonprofit conservation group American Rivers.

“It’s no surprise that a key finding of this study is that recreation, agriculture and healthy natural resources can co-exist,” she said. “And they can do so to the economic benefit of Nebraska’s communities.”

Reach Joe Duggan at 473-7239 or jduggan@journalstar.com.