Wilderness is good for local business
By Renee Frank / For the Sun-News
Posted: 07/26/2010 01:00:00 AM MDT
The Las Cruces Green Chamber of Commerce strongly supports the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks Wilderness Act. There are many worthwhile reasons why this legislation should be approved, not least among which is the undeniable fact that wilderness and National Conservation Area (NCA) designations are good for Doña Ana County businesses and the local economy.
The guiding principle of our diverse organization of local businesses is that business success is measured by the triple bottom line – people, planet, as well as profit. Obviously, protecting our ever diminishing wild lands benefits our local environment including its diverse wildlife, vegetation and natural resources, as well as the people who live here and enjoy the wonderful quality of life that draws us and keeps us here. We hope everyone can agree on that basic fact. Specifically, wilderness designation ensures that valuable public lands will continue to serve as reservoirs of clean water and fresh air; offer amazing opportunities for recreational activities such as hiking, hunting, camping and fishing; and remain available for significant scientific and educational discovery.
There has been much discussion about the impact of the wilderness designation on border security. Clearly the benefits of preserving our wild lands would be offset if there were negative impacts on the security of our people or property. The Las Cruces Green Chamber of Commerce members commend Sens. Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall for their ongoing process to hear testimony from every area of concern and to make adjustments to the legislation to assure the security of our border and of our area. That said, we want to add another dimension to the discussions – that of the business benefits and economic stimulus to our area as the result of the wilderness designation.
The benefits of wilderness designation to local businesses and to the local economy are huge. It is well established that designating wilderness areas stimulates economic growth that benefits businesses, brings jobs to the community and promotes higher personal income for area residents. People are attracted to a high quality of life associated with beautiful views, undisturbed wild lands, recreation, cultural and historical landmarks, clean air and water and diverse wildlife. Wilderness designation is the gold standard of conservation and will serve to “brand” Las Cruces and Doña Ana County as one of the best places in the country in which to live, work and play.
Retirees are likely to identify a town bordering wilderness area as one to which they would like to relocate, in a phenomenon commonly known as “amenity migration.” In fact, in 2002, Money Magazine named Las Cruces as one of the top places to retire, writing that “for all its affordability and climate, it’s the beauty of its landscape that draws most new residents to Las Cruces.” Wilderness designation will attract more tourists to visit and spend time in our area, further benefiting the local economy. Businesses are more likely to relocate to a community that provides a high quality of life for its employees and their families. We believe the wilderness designation will result in a powerful economic stimulus to our area that will promote new local business opportunities, attract new people and businesses to relocate here, and promote tourism – all of which will bring new jobs and economic prosperity to our community.
Each Las Cruces business, and business association, has its own ideas as to what helps or hurts their bottom line, including the benefits of land and resource conservation. We cannot, and do not, speak for all of them. However, we believe protecting the natural assets that define our community – from the Organ and Potrillo mountains to Broad Canyon – is absolutely good for business as well as for healthy economic growth that will benefit all who live here.
The Las Cruces Green Chamber of Commerce, which consists of over 300 local member businesses, supports wilderness designation because it is just good business sense – supporting our people, our beautiful little part of the planet, and profit. We encourage our lawmakers to help see that this important legislation becomes law this year.
Renee Frank is the chairman of the board of the Las Cruces Green Chamber of Commerce. She can be reached at Renee@ReneeFrank.com