Craters of the Moon National Monument
A Summary of Economic Performance in the Surrounding Communities
S U M M A RY F I N D I N G S
Research shows that conserving public lands like the Craters of the Moon National
Monument helps to safeguard and highlight amenities that draw new residents,
tourists, and businesses to surrounding communities.1
Western counties with protected public lands, like national monuments, have been
more successful at attracting fast-growing economic sectors and as a result grow
more quickly, on average, than counties without protected public lands.2 In addition,
protected natural amenities—such as the pristine scenery found at Craters of the
Moon—also help sustain property values and attract new investment.3
Craters of the Moon National Monument
E C O N O M Y G R O W S A F T E R D E S I G N AT I O N
The economies of Blaine, Butte, Minidoka, and Power counties, Idaho neighboring
the Craters of the Moon National Monument (the Craters of the Moon Region) grew
after the expansion of the monument, continuing previous growth trends.
B ACKGROUND
The 738,000 acre Craters of the Moon
National Monument was expanded in 2000
From 2001 to 2015, in the Craters of the Moon Region:4
to better protect the region’s three major
• Real personal income grew by 43%
lava fields, cinder cones, and sagebrush. • Population grew by 5%
•
Jobs
grew
by
1%
• Real per capita income grew by 36%
Located in four counties (Blaine, Butte,
Minidoka, and Power) in the Snake River
Total Employment
Plain of central Idaho, the monument is
50,000
managed cooperatively by the Bureau of
45,000
40,000
Land Management and the
35,000
National Park Service.
30,000
2014
2012
2010
2008
2006
2004
2002
2000
1998
1996
1994
1992
1990
1988
1986
1984
1982
1980
1978
1976
1974
1972
1970
From 2001 to 2015, in the Craters of the Moon Region:5
• Services grew from 28,199 to 29,724 jobs, a 5% increase
• Non-Services shrank from 12,106 to 9,955 jobs, an 18% decrease
Employment by Major Industry
35,000
Non-Services
30,000
Services
25,000
20,000
15,000
10,000
https://headwaterseconomics.org
2014
2012
2010
2008
2006
2004
2002
2000
1998
1996
1994
1992
1990
1988
1984
1982
1980
1978
1976
1974
-
1986
Monument Designation Date: 2000
5,000
1972
TRAVEL AND TOURISM
Travel and tourism are important to
communities in the Craters of the Moon
Region, representing about 23% of total
private wage and salary employment, or
4,146 jobs, in 2015. In Idaho, the Outdoor
Industry Association reports that recreation
contributes more than $6.3 billion annually
to the state’s economy.6
Monument Designation Date: 2000
S E R V I C E S J O B S I N C R E A S I N G A C R O S S T H E B OA R D
Services jobs—such as doctors, engineers, and teachers—account for the majority of
employment growth in the Craters of the Moon Region in recent decades. These jobs
are increasingly mobile, and many entrepreneurs locate their businesses in areas with a
high quality of life.
1970
PUBLIC ACCESS AND
USE OF THE MONUMENT
The monument’s central feature is the Great
Rift, a 62-mile long crack in the earth’s
crust that is the source of a remarkably
preserved volcanic landscape which was
used as a testing area by early American
astronauts. Each year, the monument
attracts thousands of visitors who hike,
camp, and explore this unique area.
25,000
20,000
15,000
10,000
5,000
0
Spring 2017
N O N - L A B O R I N C O M E G R O W S FA S T E S T
One of the largest and fastest growing sources of new personal income in the Craters
of the Moon Region is non-labor income, which is made up of investment income
such as dividends, interest and rent, and government transfer payments such as Social
Security and Medicare.
For people with investment income and many retirees, protected public lands and
recreation provide important aspects of a high quality of life. Non-labor income
already represents more than a third of all personal income in the West—and will
grow as the Baby Boomer generation retires.7
Non-Labor and Labor Income
Labor earnings
METHODOLOGY
This fact sheet is part of a series that
assesses the economic performance of
local communities that are adjacent to
national monuments. The series examines
national monuments in the eleven western
continental states that are larger than
10,000 acres and were created in
1982 or later.
2008
2006
2004
2002
2000
1998
1996
1994
1992
1990
1988
1986
1984
1982
1980
1978
1976
1974
1972
1970
THE INCREASES IN POPULATION,
Monument Designation Date: 2000
JOBS, PERSONAL INCOME, AND PER
C APITA INCOME ALSO MIRROR OTHER
WESTERN COUNTIES WITH NATIONAL
MONUMENTS OR OTHER
PROTECTED LANDS. T R A D I T I O N A L J O B S H O L D S T E A DY
2014
Non-labor income
2012
1,800
1,600
1,400
1,200
1,000
800
600
400
200
0
2010
THE ECONOMIES NEIGHBORING THE
CRATERS OF THE MOON NATIONAL
MONUMENT GREW SINCE ITS
EXPANSION IN 2000.
Millions of 2016$s
Craters of the Moon National Monument
From 2001 to 2015, in the Craters of the Moon Region:
• Non-Labor income grew from $834 million to $1.6 billion, a 93% increase
• As a result, in 2015 non-labor income made up 53% of total personal income
Long before the monument’s creation, commodity industries (agriculture, mining,
timber) were becoming a smaller share of the overall economy in the Craters of the
Moon Region. These industries remain part of the region’s economy today.
In 2015, in the Craters of the Moon Region:
• Agriculture accounted for 7% of total employment
• Mining accounted for 0.2% of total private employment
• Timber accounted for 0.4% of total private employment
PROSPERITY ON THE RISE
As the economy has grown since designation of the Craters of the Moon National
FOR MORE INFORMATION Monument, per capita income has risen as well. This indicates growing prosperity in
Contact Ray Rasker, Ph.D. the region.
Headwaters Economics
[email protected]
406-570-7044
Series: The Economic Importance
of National Monuments
to Local Communities
From 2001 to 2015, in the Craters of the Moon Region:
• Real per capita income grew from $42,962 to $58,567, a 36% increase
Real Per Capita Income
70,000
60,000
40,000
30,000
20,000
2014
2012
2010
2008
2006
2004
2002
2000
1998
1996
1994
1992
1990
1988
1986
1980
1978
1976
1974
1972
1970
0
1984
Monument Designation Date: 2000
10,000
1982
2016 $s
50,000
1Headwaters Economics. The Value of Public Lands; Lorah, P. and R. Southwick. 2003. Environmental Protection, Population Change, and Economic Development in the Rural Western United States. Population and
Environment 24(3): 255-272; McGranahan, D.A. 1999. Natural Amenities Drive Rural Population Change. ERS, Agric. Econ. Rep. No. 781. USDA: Washington, DC; Haas, W.H. and W.J. Serow. 2002. The Baby Boom,
Amenity Retirement Migration, and Retirement Communities: Will the Golden Age of Retirement Continue? Research on Aging 24(1): 150-164.
2Rasker, R., P.H. Gude, and M. Delorey. 2013. The Effect of Protected Federal Lands on Economic Prosperity in the Non-Metropolitan West. Journal of Regional Analysis and Policy 43(2): 110-122.
3Deller, S.C., T.H. Tsai, D.W. Macrouiller, and D.B.K. English. 2001. The Role of Amenities and Quality of Life in Rural Economic Growth. American Journal of Agricultural Economics 83(2): 352-365.
4All economic data come from U.S. Department of Commerce. 2016. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts, Washington, DC; U.S. Department of Commerce. 2017. Census Bureau, County Business
Patterns, Washington, DC.
5The U.S. Department of Commerce changed the way it classifies industries between 2000 and 2001. To show a continuous timeline for services and non-services employment, we subtracted non-services jobs from total
private employment to derive services jobs.
6Outdoor Industry Association. 2012. The Outdoor Recreation Economy.
7Headwaters Economics, Non-Labor Income: Large and Growing in Importance Across the West; Frey, W.H. 2006. America’s Regional Demographics in the ’00s Decade: The Role of Seniors, Boomers, and New Minorities.
Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution.
https://headwaterseconomics.org
Spring 2017