Recreation boom builds new West

MOAB, Utah -- Moab, a small town nestled in the Spanish Valley of south-eastern Utah, is best known as the mountain bike capital of the world. It's also the county seat of Grand County (pop. 9,000), a premier example of a "recreation county" - one of 285 counties where income from recreation and tourism dominates the local economy.

Such communities are increasingly the norm in the West, and they are often pictured by outsiders as idyllic. Yet, they have their own set of challenges, in some ways as delicate as those faced by the resource - and ranch-based communities that preceded them.

In the earliest years, after the Mormon missionary settlements around 1855, Moab was a base camp for an assortment of trappers, prospectors and cattlemen - and a haven for train robbers and other outlaws who used hideouts in the back country where mountain bikers now hold sway.

During this century, Moab developed a solid base in agriculture. Then came the cycles of boom and bust so familiar to the history of the West. The oil boom of the 1920s fizzled. Then came the uranium discovery in 1952, and another boom built on mineral extraction. It lasted until the market for uranium collapsed in 1983, and most mining and milling operations ceased.

But a New Economy based on another kind of natural resource - the region's spectacular environment and exceptional scenery - was also emerging. First, there were moviemakers like John Ford, who beginning in the 1940s, used the region's magnificent views located in the heart of the Colorado Plateau as settings for Western film classics.

Then came outdoor recreation. It began in the early 1980s when brothers Rob and Bill Groff, owners of a local bike shop called Rim Cyclery, put fat tires on racing bikes and, at least for the people in this town, started the modern era of mountain biking. Result: Recreation and tourism exploded - from less than 10 percent to more than 50 percent of the region's income - and is now the region's economic foundation. And it's not just world-class mountain biking that draws visitors. It's also rock climbing, hiking, four-wheeling, horseback pack trips, fishing, canoeing, kayaking and river rafting.

These outdoor amenities are now attracting writers, brokers, analysts and other free-lance professionals Lone Eagles who are adding a new dimension to the town's economic base and the markets it serves. Moab's New Economy also includes increasing numbers of retirees, who now account for nearly 10 percent of the region's income.

The resulting growth and economic transformation do have downsides - and critics. One results a new kind of boom and bust, as Moab's summer population swells to more than 30,000 as students and other service workers migrate to this area to serve more than 1 million people who visit the region to enjoy world famous mountain bike trails and other outdoor sports that take full advantage of scenic red rock cliffs, rugged desert terrain and white water of the nearby Colorado River.

Another is political change: In 1994, voters replaced the "good ol' boy" county commission with a new seven-member county council and a professional county administrator. Reason: to diversify and expand the voices in policy-making and to devote more attention to growth management.

As one civic leader said to me, "This is not a native vs. newcomer issue or a generational issue or a liberal vs. conservative issue. I'm a pretty conservative guy myself, but we need more controls around here, or we're going to foul up the environment that makes our economy hum."

Bottom line: Strong economic and demographic forces are creating a New West. This transformation is being managed largely by grassroots civic leaders and elected officials who are struggling together to make things work. There are no easy answers. Simple political labels don't fit. Instead, the politics shaping the New West is about community, responsibility, accommodation and things that work - not unlike the politics of the Old West.