Development
Real Estate and Development in the Northern Rockies
New West Conference: Now More Than Ever
When we launched Real Estate and Development in the Northern Rockies two years ago, markets around the region were booming and the big questions on many peoples' minds were about how to control runaway growth. Today the environment is very different – but we think the insights you'll gain into the economy, the real estate market, and land use issues at this year's Real Estate and Development in the Northern Rockies conference, taking place Oct. 23-24 in Missoula, will be more valuable than ever.
With an historic election just weeks away and financial markets continuing to gyrate in unpredictable ways, the timing of this event is in some ways fortuitous. On Thursday, Oct 23, we'll have four of the top journalists in the region assessing the political climate, the election, and how that might impact growth and change in the Northern Rockies. We're also inviting elected officials to be our special guests at the Thursday reception, and they'll undoubtedly have a lot of insight into the political dynamics as well.
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Western Progress
Behind Closure, a Muddle of Fickle Donors, Poor Management
Even as Colorado State House majority leader and Western Progress board chairwoman Alice Madden said she's in the process of nailing down the large donors necessary to reopen the doors of the progressive think tank with offices in Missoula, Denver and Phoenix, questions remain about what caused it to unexpectedly close earlier this month.
"We're re-organized and ready to get funding," Madden said in a lengthy telephone interview. "It might take a couple more weeks. Frankly, I want to make sure we have enough."
Madden declined to name the backers, saying discussions with them were ongoing and sensitive.
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from the new west blog: business development
New York Times Profiles Idaho Start-Ups
Idaho may be best known for its potatoes — it produces, after all, a third of all the potatoes in the United States. But its economy is increasingly being driven by technology and green manufacturing companies, big and small.
That’s the lede from a story by the New York Times’ James Flanigan, who wrote about the new business atmosphere in Boise.
Calling the Treasure Valley the “Boise Valley,” Flanigan wrote that most of the start-ups are in and around Boise and that support and assistance is coming from city leaders and Boise State.
The story profiles three small start-ups: Sky Detective, which has found a way to combine GPS and cell phone technologies; MobileDataforce, a company with a software system for compiling and transmitting information from handsets in the field to databases in the home office; Balihoo, a software company which helps advertisers find the right internet audiences; Episciences, a skin care company, and Sandhill Industries, which designs and makes tiles from recycled glass.
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Generation Recreation with Michael Pearlman
Ski Bum Housing Search Grows Desperate
It's migratory season in mountain country right now for both animal and human populations. With ski season little more than a month away, a new crop of 20-something ski bums are arriving in resort towns around the west, dreaming of deep snow, cheap beer and a simple job to pay the bills.
A tough economic climate means a steady stream of recent college graduates willing to endure low wages for a free ski pass, but these economic cogs in the wheels of ski resorts' winter economies still need a warm bed and running water. These days, housing seasonal workers in towns with dwindling pools of rental units is reaching crisis stage.
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Times call for Sustainable Measures
Can We Do Better in Our Sustainability?
William Mcdonough wrote, "Imagine a world in which all the things we make, use and consume provide nutrition for nature and industry—a world in which growth is good and human activity generates a delightful, restorative ecological footprint.”
This thinking might seem far from our current reality. Is it really possible?
In rethinking the way we design our built environment we need to find new solutions to provide energy.
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From The New West Blog
Paws Up Closing Down for Winter, Drops 70 WorkersAt the Blackfoot Valley's Paws Up Resort, some 70 workers learned they will be out of winter jobs on or around Nov. 1, another sign that the high-end resort and real estate market in the West is deeply troubled. [more]
Tough Times for Nonprofits
Without Cash, Western Progress Closes Its Doors
Leading funders of the nonprofit group Western Progress backed away, prompting the nonpartisan thinktank to close its three offices in Missoula, Denver and Phoenix and lay off all 10 of its employees.
"We ran out of money," said board president Alice Madden.
Former Montana U.S. Rep. Pat Williams, who helped found the group almost two years ago, said, "I don't know what to call it. A reneging? It's a delay in funding of two of our biggest contributors. We had thought we had three years of $500,000 contributions from each of the two big contributors. As of yet, neither has come through on what we thought was a promise."
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Forest Roads to be used for Timber Harvest Only
Plum Creek Timber Road Eastment Investigated by GAO
The Government Accountability Office released a letter Friday that questioned the closed-door land use plan between Agriculture Undersecretary Mark Rey and the Plum Creek Timber Company — the largest private landowners in Montana with 1.2 million acres.
The GAO investigators — provoked by the secretiveness of the land use easement and potential impact on Montana’s forestland — referenced the National Forest Roads and Trails Act passed by Congress in 1964, which states the purpose is “to facilitate timber harvesting,” and concluded the agency cannot grant a right greater than what the act allows.
Many argue private driveways are not facilitating timber harvest, particularly when the road easements detail “cost-sharing agreements,” where taxpayers and Plum Creek split cost of road construction and maintenance.
In other news, Rick Holley, President and CEO of Plum Creek Timber, will be a Keynote Speaker at the upcoming Real Estate and Development in the Northern Rockies conference, and will be discussing the company’s approach to real estate activities.
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Real Estate and Development in the Northern Rockies
Agriculture, Local Food and Open Space at the New West ConferencePreserving agricultural lands and open space in the face of rapid growth is something most people in the Northern Rockies consider vitally important. It's not always clear how to make that happen - but innovative farmers, ranchers and community planners are finding a variety of new approaches.
At the New West conference next week, the session on this topic will feature Bob Quinn, an organic farmer from Big Sandy, who will discuss how he's built a business based on agricultural strategies and product development that are nothing less than revolutionary; Jim Hagenbarth, whose ranching operations span the Montana - Idaho border near Dillon, who will talk about how he's making it work in an era when many ranchers feel they have no choice but to sell out; Paul Hubbard, who will show how the Community Food and Agriculture Coalition is supporting local food and farming in Missoula; and Jennifer Zung, a planner from Driggs, Idaho, who will talk about how development and open space can in fact be compatible.
The conference, Real Estate and Development in the Northern Rockies, takes place next week, Oct. 23-24 in Missoula. The two-day event will examine a host of issues associated with real estate, land use and growth and change in the region. It's our third annual event, and it promises to be bigger and better than ever. Check out all the details at www.newwest.net/realestate08.
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Timber Industry
Deer Lodge Lumber Mill Lays Off 23Sun Mountain Lumber of Deer Lodge, Montana, has laid off 23 employees who worked in the finger joint and planer operations.
The layoffs were effective Thursday.
Owner Sherman Anderson says poor market conditions led to the decision.
Mills in Bonner, St. Regis, Columbia Falls and Libby have announced layoffs totaling nearly 180 workers since May.
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