By Douglas Bowers, editor

Rural Development Perspectives No. 14-2. August 1999

About this magazine

Nontechnical articles on the results of new rural research and what those results mean. Shows the practical application of research in rural banking, aging, housing, the nonmetro labor force, poverty, and the effect of farm policies on rural areas.

In this report ...

Articles are in Adobe Acrobat PDF format.

Frontmatter and Contents

Feature Articles

• Migrants Settling Far and Wide in the Rural West--The West led a rebound in nonmetro population growth from the mid-1980's through the early 1990's, caused mostly by changing patterns of net migration. Growth rates in the West have remained above other areas since 1970, but have fluctuated over time and shifted geographically. Scenic settings accessible to metro areas continued to attract a disproportionate share of new residents, but record numbers of recent migrants chose more sparsely settled and isolated areas with fewer natural amenities. For more information, contact: John B. Cromartie, jbc@ers.usda.gov.

• Amenities Increasingly Draw People to the Rural West--Recent migrants to the rural West increasingly cite both physical and social environment amenities as reasons why they moved. Job-related reasons are cited by only about 30 percent of the respondents in two surveys. People want to see greater environmental stewardship of the Federal lands surrounding their communities, and these sentiments do not vary greatly by rural/urban location, length of residency, occupation, or other demographic characteristics. For more information, contact: Gundars Rudzitis, gundars@uidaho.edu.

• Jobs Follow People in the Rural Rocky Mountain West--Over the past 25 years, employment growth has followed population growth in the Rocky Mountain West. The allure of amenities to potential migrants and employers, especially for counties rich in pristine natural landscapes, has increased over time. As with other nonmetro counties, the service and trade sectors now dominate employment in the Rocky Mountains. For more information, contact: Alexander C. Vias, acvias@bentley.unco.edu

• Migrants to Oregon in the 1990's: Working Age, Near-Retirees, and Retirees Make Different Destination Choices--The rate of inmigration is high in Western States; hence, the characteristics of the inmigrants are of great policy interest for both communities and States. Different regions in Oregon attract dramatically different kinds of migrants: metro areas attract young professionals, some retirement/recreation areas attract the often-wealthy 'near-retirees,' and still other retirement/recreation areas attract older retirees. Migrants who move primarily for quality-of-life reasons are willing to absorb substantial declines in income to do so, while migrants who move for job-related reasons will accept little or no income decline. For more information, contact: Dean H. Judson, dean h. judson@ccmail.census.gov

• Quality of Life, Nontraditional Income, and Economic Growth: New Development Opportunities for the Rural West--Areas with high levels of natural amenities have enjoyed growing populations and income levels in the past decade, much of it from the inmigration of people with income from self-employment or investments. These new migrants are usually well-educated and often work as executives or professionals or in such industries as finance, insurance, and real estate or business services. Communities may find that policies that enhance the quality of life (better schools, environmental protection, etc.) can attract more of these people who are in a financial position to act upon their residential preferences. For more information, contact: Peter B. Nelson, pbnelson@middlebury.edu

• Employment Growth in the Rural West From 1985 to 1995 Outpaced the Nation--Employment growth was much stronger in the rural West between 1985 and 1995 than it was in all U.S. rural areas and in the United States as a whole. Although the bulk of this job growth was in services, the rural West gained manufacturing jobs, as was the case elsewhere in the rural United States. Counties adjacent to metro areas grew more rapidly than those not adjacent, with employment gains led by health services, producer services, and retailing. For more information, contact: William B. Beyers, beyers@u.washington.edu

• Wildlife Conservation and Economic Development in the West--The economic expansion and population growth that have continued for almost a decade in many rural communities of the West are posing a new set of wildlife conservation issues for the region. Unlike economic development in the past, this expansion is not associated with the traditional economic base, but instead is tied to services sectors and wildlife amenities of the region. For more information, contact: Kevin Ingram, kingram@ERS.USDA.gov

• Finding Common Ground on Western Lands--Use of the Nation's 2.3 billion acres, including the half-billion acres in Western States, depends not simply on whether they are publicly or privately owned, but also on how the multiple interests in each acre, including rights to water and other resources, are distributed. This article describes how voluntary agreements between private landowners and a variety of public and private agencies increasingly influence how those interests are distributed and how social, economic, and environmental objectives are met. For more information, contact: Keith Wiebe, kdwiebe@ERS.USDA.gov

• Water Markets: Implications for Rural Areas of the West--Market transfers of water from irrigated agriculture are viewed as one of the most likely ways to accommodate new demands for water supplies. Market transfers generally improve statewide economic efficiency by shifting water to higher valued uses. However, case studies find the impact of these transfers on agriculturally dependent rural communities to be significant because the costs accrue to the area of origin and the benefits to the area of new water use. For more information, contact: Noel R. Gollehon, gollehon@ERS.USDA.gov

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