By Brian Carver

In Utah, as in most of the West, COVID-19-related closures to public lands such as National Parks and Monuments, State Parks, and other recreation areas have been devastating to rural economies that are highly dependent on either resource extraction or recreation spending for jobs and tax revenue. National parks and monuments brought in $1B+ in spending and taxes to Utah in 2018 (National Park Service Visitor Spending Effects Report). Utah's most visited national park, Zion National Park, brings $327M+ of economic impact alone.

As parks have closed due to the current public health crisis surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, many rural communities are suffering from high unemployment, wage losses, and reduced tax revenue. In Utah, the counties with the highest unemployment rates are those with strong ties to National Parks due to the high percentage of hospitality and service jobs oriented towards meeting the needs of park visitors. Garfield County, home of Bryce Canyon National Park and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, had an unemployment rate of 23.9% in April of 2020, compared to 7.4% in March (Utah Dept. of Workforce Services, April 2020). Comparatively, the national unemployment rate jumped from 4.4% to 14.7% between March 12 and April 12 of this year. This figure excludes workers who may have been furloughed without pay, but expect to go back to work and are, therefore, counted as “employed” but do not enjoy the economic benefits of steady wages. Another telling statistic is how the employment numbers changed over time between April 2019 and April 2020: the total number of jobs in tourism and resource extraction-dependent counties is down between 20% and 27% (Utah DWS, April 2020).

Communities surrounding Bryce Canyon National Park in Garfield County, Utah depend on tourism for economic support.

While the employment drops are likely temporary, many of these communities were already fragile economically. It will take time to recover jobs, lost income, and vanished wealth. Additionally, our communities will be changed forever as we adapt to new socialization and travel behavior. We are just beginning to understand the depth of these changes and their impacts will be a topic of discussion for years to come.

While there is hope that outdoor-based tourism can recover more quickly than other sectors, many communities who depended upon tourism and recreation in nearby public lands had tenuous economic conditions to begin with.

While these changes can be difficult, they also provide new opportunities for evolution and innovation in how our communities grow. These stresses are the prerequisite to much of the innovation and diversification in a capitalistic economy. Just as infection in an organism causes antibodies to be developed to strengthen the system against future infections, these changes to our local communities can lead us to develop more resilient economic systems and development patterns that will result in stronger communities in the future.

The following are potential strategies communities can implement to improve their recovery from the current crisis and increase resilience to future economic shocks:

1. Continued investment in 21st-century technology—broadband internet access is a must. One outcome of the current crisis is the rapid adoption of existing remote work technologies.

Facilitate deployment through coordination with private service providers to reduce permitting and other regulatory barriers
Encourage dig-once protocols that allow conduit for fiber and other telecom services to be installed or upgraded during other routine easement work
Work with transportation and education providers to facilitate public access to internet service hubs
Encourage libraries to provide workspace for small entrepreneurs that includes access to internet

2. Improve communication between communities and public lands management agencies.

County Resource Management Plans are an effort to synchronize local and federal land management priorities. These planning documents are meant to help facilitate coordinated relationships and common understanding between entities on both sides of public land. Utah pushed for all counties to conduct this type of planning a few years ago. For some counties, it was just a state-mandated hoop to jump through; for others, it empowered greater understanding and engagement on public lands issues.
This crisis has pushed many individuals and organizations to become more familiar with technology that facilitates communication in large groups over great distances. County officials should take advantage of this development to increase discussion about management issues with state and federal land managers virtually face-to-face.

3. Encourage sound economic visioning and planning in small communities.

Identify assets. Examine your community's human, institutional, financial, and cultural assets. An asset-based assessment helps put the community in a positive mindset versus focusing on what they lack. This helps communities also focus on what they are, instead of what they are not. Sometimes communities prioritize around what they lack, rather than the assets they have. For instance, as the Internet makes the world seem smaller, many remote communities envision becoming a tech hub. However, they underestimate what conditions need to be in place naturally as well as ignoring their current assets. Even less-popular state parks and recreation areas can take advantage as more tourists look for "undiscovered" places and want to avoid big crowds in top-tier parks.

Sometimes radical re-envisioning is necessary to transform a community—particularly after the loss of the major industrial base. Even under these conditions, communities should look to their underlying strengths and assets. Building upon these strengths, communities can look for synergies between various capitals and create more resilient local economies.

Focus limited resources on “priming the pump” for entrepreneurs. Look towards fostering an entrepreneurial climate in your community through approaches like "Economic Gardening” (https://www.nationalcentereg.org/). Waive or reduce permitting fees for certain industries and start-ups, realizing that these fees will be made up in tax revenues as the business succeeds.
Develop policies to support innovative approaches to doing business. These approaches might not fit traditional Euclidean land use controls. For example, a business using 3D printing to manufacture outdoor equipment and sell it through their storefront may possibly fit on Main Street, whereas their use would normally relegate them to an industrial park. Form-based code approaches may be able to help, but adaptation and change are critical for planners and economic developers as we move into more challenging times.

4. Work regionally.

Think as a region. In much of the West, the economic fate of a single town is likely linked to its surrounding county and communities. This is also true for communities surrounding national and state parks. Instead of fighting for relocating businesses or for the right to say they are the gateway to that park, work more closely and balance individual strengths for the regional good. For example, a town closer to a national park may have more "touristy" type amenities like souvenir shops and high-end hotels, but the surrounding towns can attract more budget-conscious travelers staying in short-term rentals, provide the local workforce with more affordable housing, or be the go-to community for retirees seeking access but not bustle.
Tap into regional resources. Much of the West is covered by federally designated Economic Development Districts (EDDs). These districts are organized to provide regional coordination and technical assistance to communities, especially in rural areas. Reach out to your local EDD staff for more information on what resources are available to your community or clients to help with recovery from our current crisis and to build resilience against future events. To see what District you’re in, visit https://www.eda.gov/edd/

While the future will certainly be different from our past, the fundamentals of good community and economic development remain critical to community planning. Without following these fundamentals, communities will struggle to enact their vision for the future and will simply be at the mercy of their circumstances. Most of these suggestions are just good fundamentals, as relevant before the pandemic as after. Beyond the basics, however, the COVID-19 era has provided us with an opportunity to readjust and re-envision what our communities can look like and how we interact with our surrounding public lands.

Brian Carver is the Community and Economic Development Director for the Bear River Association of Governments, located in Logan, Utah. Before his position in the Cache Valley, Brian worked for the State of Utah’s planning department. Brian is also currently represents Utah on the Western Planner Resources Board.

Public Land Communities and COVID-19: Impacts and Ideas