Heartbeat Ski Boats Article

A diversifying economy is taking the region off the boom-or-bust roller coaster.

Growth, Diversity and Preservation Are the Watchwords

In years past, living in the Four Corners area could be compared to the thrill of a roller coaster ride. One minute you're up, the next you're down. With an economy dependent on the oil and gas industry, it was exhilarating at the top, but the gut-wrenching descent left only lean pickings for those remaining in a struggle to survive.

"It's a more stable area now," says Bill Davis, executive director of San Juan Economic Development Services in Farmington. "If one entity suffers, it no longer causes a great decline in the economy of San Juan County."

With its wild west flavor, the mountain town of Durango also has had its flutter of expectation on the way up, only to have its wind knocked out on the rush down.

"We learned a lesson in 1982 when Exxon pulled out [from Colorado's Western Slope]," says Will Williams, executive director for the La Plata County Economic Development Council. "We had all our eggs in the Exxon basket, and 12,000 people left within a couple of years."

With a more diverse base, population growth has been up all over the Four Corners area. Steve Neville, president of the Farmington Board of Realtors, says property values have leveled out since a growth spurt began a few years ago but are still strong.

Durango now has a population of about 38,000, and the growth is mainly in the outlying county areas. Since 1980, there has been a 33 percent increase in newcomers, many from California. Last year, nearly 1,300 housing permits were issued, valued at about $68 million and at the top end of the scale are people who are buying 10 acres and building million-dollar homes. Still, there's a shortage of more affordable housing in the lower income market, which includes apartments and duplexes.

Major Retail Center

The oil and gas industry has been a mainstay of Farmington's economy since 1951, but this city of some 36,000 is now rapidly becoming a major retail center. The retail market is estimated to be close to 250,000 people within a 150-mile radius, says Melissa Bateman, executive director of the Farmington Chamber of Commerce. Residents are drawn from the nearby Navajo, Jicarilla Apache, Ute Mountain Ute, and Southern Ute Indian Reservations, as well as from the Durango, Cortez, Bayfield, and Pagosa Springs areas in Colorado. In 1992, Wal-Mart relocated and expanded its Farmington operation next to a new Sam's Club. Target will open a new store this summer and there is an increase in sales of automobiles, recreational vehicles and boats, says Gary Howlett of Citizens Bank.

BHP, the major coal producer in the area, employs almost 1,000 people in New Mexico (of which 70 percent are members of the Navajo Nation), with an annual payroll of about $48 million.

A Navajo Nation enterprise, the Navajo Indian Irrigation Project (NIIP) is farmed with water supplied from the Navajo Reservoir by the Navajo Agricultural Products Industry (NAPI). The total labor force at NAPI/NIIP is about 500 permanent personnel and reaches a season high of approximately 1,700 during August through October.

A Plan for the Rivers

In the past, the boom and bust days of Farmington brought some quick-fix solutions during the boom days. Consequently, some sites put up then still bear signs of hurried assembly. However, architect William Freimuth, who is trying to change this, is involved in many impressive beautifying projects around San Juan County. His firm has coordinated all architectural services for the Pinon Hills Municipal Golf Course, the sleek-looking Farmington Aquatic Center, the Anasazi Amphitheater, the Farmington Post Office, and the San Juan College Child Development Center.

Freimuth is also involved in Farmington's riverine plan at the confluence of the San Juan, the Animas, and the La Plata Rivers. When the oil and gas industry boomed in the 1950s, the city's focus moved north so that the majority of the river environment remained undeveloped and pristine. Freimuth, together with a group of experts versed in various aspects essential to proper development, formed the Farmington River Reach Regional and Urban Design Assistance Team (R/UDAT), to make recommendations for areas of development, conservation, and preservation. Along the 8-mile Animas/San Juan Rivers corridor, implementation of the phased development is well under way.

The school districts of Central Consolidated and Farmington are the largest employers in San Juan County, each has just over 1,000 employees. Another large employer and one of the leaders in community involvement, San Juan Regional Medical Center, employs 800 people.

Adding to a healthy economic environment is San Juan College, a two-year college, where the student enrollment keeps rising. More than 4,000 students enrolled for fall semester, up more than a thousand students from just four years ago. With a growing student enrollment comes the need for expansion. Last year San Juan College opened the $ million James C. Henderson Fine Arts Educational Center. This 83,000 square-foot performance and teaching complex hosts large concerts and multicultural theatrical performances. It also serves as a regional center for meetings and conferences in the Four Corners area.

Education Connects With Business

Business partnerships with San Juan College include contracts with Toyota and General Motors to provide automotive training, as well as training. through the Department of Defense in the Hughes Missile Systems Program and a pipeline workshop training session for Navajos when gas pipelines are run across their land. In the fall, a computer chip manufacturing training program will be offered through Intel in a three- or four-semester curriculum. SJC also has developed a program with the University of New Mexico offering a bachelor degree in education. San Juan College also offers a pilot training program through Farmington-based Mesa Air Group in which a 2-year associate's degree in commercial aviation is awarded.

A success story in itself from its early beginnings in 1982 as Mesa Air Shuttle, Mesa Air Group has grown from a tiny operation into one of the largest regional airline systems in the world, comprised of five airline divisions with almost 200 aircraft and flights to more than 175 communities across the United States.

Durango's Fort Lewis College - "Colorado's Campus in the Sky" - is a 4-year, fully accredited, liberal arts college and a member of the Colorado State University system. On 362 acres atop a mesa overlooking Durango, FLC offers 24 degree programs and has an enrollment of 4,200 students.

The largest employer in Durango is the Purgatory Ski Resort with 750 employees, followed by Mercy Medical Center with 530. Durango encourages industrial growth for its year-round stability, which in turn complements tourism.

Tourism is on the Upswing

Tourism is a huge boost to the Four Corners area where a wide array of Indian rugs and weavings and some of the finest silver and turquoise jewelry made by American Indian craftsmen is to be found. An abundance of Indian ruins all over the region brings tourists in to marvel at an ancient way of life. The Anasazi, or "Ancient Ones," disappeared in the 13th century, although they are believed to be the ancestors of today's Pueblo Indians.

In New Mexico are Aztec and Salmon Ruins, and their predecessors in Chaco Canyon, where tourists may view the mud-and-masonry high-rise homes. In nearby Arizona, wherein lies the capital of the Navajo Nation at Window Rock, Canyon de Chelly National Monument shelters prehistoric cliff houses. The Trail of the Ancients begins in Blanding, Utah, where visitors may tour a reconstructed Anasazi Indian ruin. Under the shadow of the legendary Sleeping Ute Mountain, Colorado boasts Mesa Verde National Park where visitors can walk through spectacular cliff dwellings and numerous mesa top villages.

Recreation is another big draw throughout the Four Corners region. "Colorado's biggest surprise in skiing" is the Purgatory Ski Resort just 25 miles north of Durango offering superb skiing conditions. This past season has been Purgatory's best in its 29-year history, says Mike Smedley, media relations director. Purgatory had a record 382,839 skiers, making it the No. 1 resort in Colorado, and just released plans for a $ million capital improvements project which includes expanded snow making and a new high-speed quad lift.

In Farmington, Sandstone Production's enactment of Anasazi, The Ancient Ones, is an annual summer musical drama in a spectacular outdoor amphitheater setting. The gaming casinos in southwest Colorado - Ute Mountain Casino in Towaoc and Sky Ute Lodge and Casino in Ignacio - are also big tourist attractions, as is the historic Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, which employs 65 employees year round and over 200 employees in the summer.

The train, like the economy, has its peaks and valleys, and while the breathless feeling of a roller coaster ride may not be there, the steady chugging of a stable economy is the new heartbeat in the Four Corners region today.

Joanne O'Keefe is a freelance writer and a resident of Farmington.