Making the 30,000-acre Badlands east of Bend a federally protected wilderness area could help propel Central Oregon's economic growth, according to a report released Thursday by the Oregon Natural Desert Association.
The report was produced by Headwaters Economics, a nonprofit land management group from Bozeman, Mont., whose mission is to improve community development and land management decisions in the West, according to its Web site. ONDA and a local steering committee assisted with the report.
Since 1992, the Badlands - about 15 miles east of Bend - has been managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management as a Wilderness Study Area.
That designation blocks some types of usage and development but is less restrictive than a wilderness area and does not protect the land from development in perpetuity.
On the web
To view a copy of the report "The Potential Economic Impacts of the Badlands Wilderness in Central Oregon," visit www.onda.org or www .headwaterseconomics .org.
Because only Congress can alter the designation, environmental advocates have been working for more than a decade to persuade local and national lawmakers to take up the cause. Wilderness supporters hope the economic impact study will help push public and political support to change the designation within the next year, according to ONDA Executive Director Bill Marlett.
"This area was recommended as suitable for wilderness in 1992, and here we are, 15 years later, still working on it," Marlett said. "We hope that (members of Congress) can spend more time in this area ... . There should be a decision by next year, when Congress adjourns."
The Badlands area, with its acres of old-growth juniper, sandy ground and unique volcanic rock formations, is popular with hikers, horseback riders, mountain bikers and hunters.
Among the issues discussed in the 42-page report are the wilderness designation's potential impacts to the region's job and income growth and quality of life, one of the key elements that draws people and businesses to any area.
The study's author, Headwaters Economics Associate Director Ben Alexander, said he looked into the current use of the land and found that more restrictive management would have virtually no negative impact on the economy, but it would benefit the quality of life of area residents. Protected natural areas, he said, draw new residents, new businesses and added revenue from tourists who support a growing service-based economy.
"We looked at the role that public lands play in the public economy," Alexander said. "There's not a lot of commercial activity there, no timbering or mining. We think the primary value associated with the land has very little to do with land use and everything to do with setting."
The study mapped the role of wilderness areas across the West and found that counties with more wilderness had $1,800 higher per capita income, $310 higher earnings per job and 0.4 percent lower unemployment than counties with less wilderness areas. However, the report also acknowledges that education of the work force, transportation providing access to markets "and a diverse economy with an emphasis on high-wage producer services," are more significant determinants for economic success.
Central Oregon, Alexander said, is poised for similar growth. The report also cited a 2004 study published in the International Journal of Wilderness that concluded that counties with wilderness areas generated growth in hotels, restaurants and in "higher paying professional services and investment offices."
The study did not include specific estimates for employment, commercial or population growth in Central Oregon.
And while a largely untouched area might not seem to be the most logical resource for economic growth, Alexander said similar resources, like the Three Sisters and Mount Washington wilderness areas, already attract new residents and tourists alike. The report cites a study of Oregon adults born between 1926 and 1964 that found that scenery ranked first above low crime, job opportunities and health care as a reason for moving to a new area.
"The thing that people struggle with is that it's a setting; you can't eat it," said Alexander, whose organization has conducted research into development around Yellowstone National Park and elsewhere in the West for the Sonoran Institute and others. "But I would argue that you're eating the setting every day in Bend and increasingly in places like Prineville and Madras."
The Badlands area was also once a popular destination for off-road vehicle enthusiasts, but conflict with environmental groups led to a motor vehicle ban in the area in October 2005.
Before and after the ban, visitors wanting to drive vehicles in the Badlands have been among the most outspoken critics of the push for a wilderness designation. But according to Marlett, the BLM-enforced ban already in place makes the debate a nonissue.
"In this case, that issue has been resolved," Marlett said. "We do have some opposition from people who see (the wilderness designation) as a lockout of the public, and the irony of that is that the Badlands is getting more public use now than before."
According to BLM Recreation Planner Gavin Hoban, on-the-ground management would remain largely the same if the designation was changed. Non-vehicle recreation would still be permitted, and locals and visitors would be just as able to hike, bike or run.
"The Badlands have a very subtle, not traditional beauty, and if you put in the effort, you can find some phenomenal geology there," Hoban said. "And it's right here ... I like to say it's so close to Bend that you can get there before your latte gets cold."
