Golden Goose Forum Presentations:
Ben Alexander's Forum Presentation
Kreg Lindberg's Forum Presentation
Central Oregon's Golden Goose:
What Is It? How Do We Sustain It?
In our September Forum the City Club will explore balancing a booming economy and maintaining the quality of life many of us sought and found in Central Oregon. The presentation will begin promptly at 11:30 a.m. and conclude at 1:00 p.m. Check-in begins at 11:15 a.m. at the Center for Health and Learning in St. Charles Medical Center. St. Charles is located at 2500 Neff Road, in Bend.
The Forum will include findings and perspectives from three panelists: Ben Alexander, Associate Director of Headwaters Economics; Kreg Lindberg, Associate Professor and head of the Tourism and Outdoor Leadership program at OSU-Cascades Campus, and Catherine Morrow, Deschutes County Planning Director.
Ben Alexander states, “Certainly one of the largest questions facing western boom towns is how to maintain and protect the very assets that make an area attractive to newcomers and businesses.” Studies show that public lands, outdoor recreation, beautiful scenery and access to the wilderness are key attractors to the Central Oregon region. For Central Oregon citizens the concern is whether the checks and balances are in place to protect those assets we value, while allowing economic growth in the region. Alexander further writes “The rate and nature of development in the region threatens the natural amenities that make the region attractive and point to the need for protections – on private or public land – to ensure the area’s competitive strengths remain vital.
Kreg Lindberg asks “In our effort to expand and diversify our economy, with associated benefits, do we jeopardize the scenery or other characteristics that drive tourism, migration and resident quality of life?” Dr. Lindberg's recent evaluation of factors driving Baby Boomer and Pre-Boomer migration provides a starting point for answering this question. Regional growth, and how we respond to it, can effect (both positively and negatively) the destination characteristics that attract migrants, including scenery, low crime rates, health care, recreation opportunities, and small town character. Lindberg will present evaluation results, both statewide and for Central Oregon, with links to tourism and resident quallity of life.
The City Club will review reports from Mr. Alexander, "The Potential Economic Impacts of Wilderness in Central Oregon", and Dr. Lindberg, "Boomer and Pre-Boomer Migration To and Within Oregon", and “Outdoor Recreation and an Aging Oregon Population.” Additionally Ms. Morrow will share perspectives about county planning and policies for maintaining the balance between rapid development and sustaining the desirable attributes of the region.
Please scroll to the bottom of this page to find the reports and articles related to this important issue.
Panelists’ Information
Ben Alexander is Associate Director of Headwaters Economics. He has extensive experience working with land management agencies, ranchers, county commissioners, conservation groups and land use planners in the West. Ben has published in the areas of ranch economics, collaborative land management, and community development. He started the Working Landscapes Program at the Sonoran Institute, and most recently was Director of the Sonoran Institute's SocioEconomics Program. Ben holds a B.A. in History from Tufts University and an M.A. and M.Phil. in American Studies from Yale University.:
Headwaters Economics is a high-tech nonprofit organization that offers a unique blend of research skills and on-the-ground experience based on over 20 years of work with communities, landowners, public land managers and elected officials. Its mission is to improve community development and land management decisions in the West.
Kreg Lindberg lheads the Tourism and Outdoor Leadership program at Oregon State University, Cascades Campus in Bend. His research includes a range of recreation and tourism topics, and his teaching covers content from ecotourism to recreation management to statistics and research methods.
He has taught in tourism and resource management programs at universities in the U.S. Australia and Norway. Kreg was lead editor for both volumes of the book Ecotourism: A Guide for Planners & Managers, has published in various journals, and is on the editorial board of Journal of Sustainable Tourism. He has consulted and conducted research in the United States, Australia, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Poland, Costa Rica, Belize, Ecuador, Peru, South Africa, China, and Indonesia.
He has a Ph.D. in forest social science with a minor in economics from Oregon State University, as well as a Masters in international relations from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.
Catherine Morrow, is Planning Director for the Deschutes County Community Development Department. She has been a planner in Oregon since 1987 and is currently the Planning Director for Deschutes County where she has worked since 1990. A significant part of her job is coordinating with cities on urban growth issues. She was the lead planner for a multi-agency collaborative regional problem solving project to address predicted groundwater pollution and other issues in the upper Deschutes River watershed. She also led the effort to develop and implement a transferable development rights program to protect groundwater quality.
Catherine served on the Natural Hazards and the Industrial Conversion Advisory Committees for the Department of Land Conservation and Development. She is currently a Board Member for EDCO, an economic development organization for Central Oregon.
From 1999 through 2001 Catherine took a break form public planning to start her own business Morrow Planning. Her main accomplishment as a private consultant was to coordinate the design, develop special zoning code, and obtain approval for NorthWest Crossing, a large, mixed use development in Bend. Her clients also included the Bend Park District, the City of Madras and other developers.
Catherine worked 13 years for the U.S. Forest Service in eastern Oregon, and as a planner for Benton County and 1000 Friends of Oregon. She served for four years on the Grant County Planning Commission. Catherine holds a Bachelor of Science degree in geography from Oregon State University and has completed a graduate seminar on New Urbanism at the Harvard Graduate School of Design.
Other Resources:
The following reports, articles and information is preparation reading for the City Club discussion about Central Oregon's Golden Goose.
Read Alexandra Arch's Bend Business Review article:
Palm High Desert, How Nine New Resorts Could Impact Central Oregon
Read Ben Alexander's Report:
The Potential Economic Impacts of Wilderness in Central Oregon
Read Dr. Kreg Linberg's Reports:
Oregon's Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP)
Boomer and Pre-Boomer Migration to and Within Oregon pages 22-25
Outdoor Recreation and an Aging Oregon Population pages 48-58
Conference Information:
Understanding and Managing Amenity-Led Migration in Mountain Regions