CANYON?CITY – There were new ideas: Tap the region’s unwanted juniper stands for berries to produce Grant County gin, start a firewood co-op, promote organic farming …

There were long-held proposals: Press the Forest Service to produce more timber volume for the local mills …

In between, there were wheels turning on all fronts as more than 100 people gathered last week for the Grant County Economic Summit, held at the Canyon City Community Center.

The crowd was a varied group – elected officials, government employees, ranchers, small business owners, representatives of the governor’s office and interested citizens. Many came with an interest in a specific economic sector, but organizer Les Zaitz said he saw common themes emerge.

“There seemed to be a consensus in the room that people want to see something happen in Grant County, they want to see the public and private sectors work together, and they want local organizations to target efforts that have a high probability of success,” he said.

Zaitz asked the crowd to consider the possible, not the impossible.

“What can we do to create one job, two jobs, 10 jobs?” he said. “This is not about bringing Microsoft in here.”

Sally Bartlett, economic development coordinator, noted that economic development is “seeking the impossible, and realizing the possible.”

Mike Slinkard, owner of Winner’s Choice Bowstrings, provided a case study of someone who parlayed a passion for sport into a thriving business. He started the bowstring business as a way to stay in the county after his job as an equipment operator in the timber industry “went by the wayside.”

“I had $9,500 to start this company,” he said. His business now is on its way to $3 million in gross sales.

While he acknowledged some “lucky breaks,” he also said he tapped agencies for advice, assistance and grants to get his company off the ground.

Marketing is a key to the business’ success, he said. He wore his “trade show shirt” to prove the point that he is always marketing.

Other keys to success: making a high-end product that’s compact to ship, finding and claiming his own niche, getting help with tasks such as grant writing – help that is available in the county.

“The flip side is that grants are not free money – You have to put your money in, too, but they do help,” he said.

Slinkard said he’s sure there are others who could follow their passion and find success in the same way he did.

“It isn’t impossible, it isn’t even close to impossible,” he said.

While some of the statistics and trends seemed grim, several speakers were optimistic.

“There is a lot of horsepower in this room,” said Rick Wagner, a stewardship forester with the Oregon Department of Forestry.

He urged people to work together to pool their knowledge and resources to find solutions that work in Grant County. He also pressed for sustainability.

“I am very passionate about hunting down that sweet spot of sustainability,” he said. He said he’s seen the extremes of both capitalism and environmentalism, and in between is that “sweet spot.”

“You don’t get to it that easily,” he said.

Wagner said communites can’t wait for the government “to fix everything.”

“The long-term fix, the sustainable fix is going to come down to you folks here in this room,” he said.

The key is whether people opt for a proactive choice, which bears dividends, or a reactive course.

Wagner noted that the pine and juniper forests of Grant County are a tremendous asset, and not just in a traditional sense. He sees future opportunities as industries pump billions of dollars into “unlocking the cellular bounty of wood.” That effort will lead not just to biofuel, but other products such as pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.

Alternative products such as pellets and pet bedding are just a few examples of products being produced “all around Grant County – but why not here?”

“Position yourself for change,” Wagner said, adding, “There are people who can help you get started.”

Rick Minster, business development officer with the Oregon Economic and Community Development Department, also noted the availability of assistance.

He pressed the potential of the area to attract and retain business.

He said business owners want a good workforce, industrial property, quality of life, and incentives for locating their business here.

“From my point of view, we’ve got it all,” he said. In addition to the industrial land at the Grant County Airport in John Day, he noted that there are good sites for business in other communities such as Seneca, Monument, Long Creek and Prairie City.

Zaitz wrapped up the summit by proposing the creation of a Grant County Economic Council that would meet quarterly in open forums to share information, locate resources and brainstorm solutions.

He said it could be a repository for ideas that could carry forward the energy of the summit.

Jerry Franklin, a local Realtor, objected to forming a new group, saying that numerous organizations already exist. He suggested Grant Resource Enhancement Action Team (GREAT) as the more logical group to carry on such work, although he acknowleged it has had difficulty in getting people involved in the past.

After talking later, both decided to look into ways to advance the economic development work by revitalizing GREAT and having it host the quarterly sessions.

The Oct. 16 Economic Summit, promoted in cooperation with the Grant County Economic Development, the Grant County Chamber of Commerce and the Grant County Farm Bureau, featured a range of speakers who started the session by outlining some of the demographics and economic statistics for the county.

Among the presentations:

Government employment

Noting why government employment is important, Jason Yohannon, an economist from the Oregon Employment Department, noted that Grant County ranks fifth among all 36 Oregon counties in its dependence on government jobs. That sector accounts for 41 percent of the jobs in Grant County, well above the state capital with 26.5 percent. Only Wheeler, Harney, Lake and Sherman counties rank higher on the list.

Government jobs also are important because they tend to be family-wage jobs. However, that sector has lost jobs at a faster rate than private industry in the past decade.

The federal sector has taken the brunt of those cutbacks, he said.

Timber industry

John Shelk, managing director of Ochoco Lumber Company, chronicled the decline of the timber industry in the local area.

“All of you probably remember the days when there were three operating sawmills in Grant County … when all of Eastern Oregon was populated by sawmills.”

Today, only one sawmill is operating in John Day, and many others in Eastern Oregon have closed. Shelk also said that while there is federal timber available now, most of it is burned.

He predicted that the timber industry will survive “although it’s hard to see that from this trough.”

Shelk said industry is talking with environmental groups and the Forest Service to seek an end to the gridlock on public lands. The emerging focus on forest health has fostered that dialogue, he said, noting that before there was no compelling reason for the parties to talk.

He said the timber industry will continue to be the “primary tool” for reducing fuel loads and wildfire risk on the forests, but there needs to be a greater emphasis on “landscape management,” rather than small projects that are not economically feasible.

He cautioned against getting swept up by biomass ideas, noting that the county has one biomass plant – at Prairie Wood Products – and it is not running continuously.

He also warned that the Forest Service and other federal agencies may face even tighter budgets as the government copes with the cost of the economic bailout of the financial industry.

Tim Lillebo, a longtime conservationist and Eastern Oregon wildlands advocate for Oregon Wild, noted shifts in science, forest management and philosophy over the years.

He said that in the 1970s, he and others felt the forests were being over-harvested, and that the science seemed to support that. Conservation groups advocated, and litigated, to remedy that problem by leaving the forest alone.

Since then, he said, the science has shown – particularly for the dry pine forests – that some active management is needed to address fire and disease problems.

As the scientific understanding changed, Lillebo said, “I had to change what I had thought was the way to go.”

He said he believes the science now supports restoration work that would improve timber stands, increasing fire resiliency and insect resistance, and also provide 15 years of timber for wood products.

“The way to get there is collaboration,” he said.

He conceded that collaborative process is slow and tedious, but that each small project undertaken now will lay the groundwork and establish trust for future, large-scale restoration.

He urged the group to consider value-added wood products, niche markets and secondary markets.

“We’ve got to try new things,” Lillebo said.

As for woody biomass, he said, “I’m not convinced it’s a non-starter.”

Agriculture

Gary Delaney, OSU Extension agent, and Lorraine Vogt, district conservationist with the U.S. Natural Resource Conservation Service, outlined the trends in agriculture.

Looking at cattle ranching, Delaney noted an increase in the value of production in recent years, but said it doesn’t mean “more money in the ranchers’ pockets.” He said rising cost of production means net losses for many ranchers.

In addition, the industry faces challenges from pressures from groups that oppose grazing on public lands, consumer fears about disease and diet issues, increasing absentee ownership of ranch land, and the aging of the ranch-owning population.

He said the ranchers in Grant County are among the most progressive he’s seen.

“They take better care of their land than I’ve seen in other places,” he said.

Vogt said crop farmers show similar trends in Grant County, as expenses eclipse income on average. Grant County’s farming historically has been dominated by grass and alfalfa hay.

Pondering the future of farming in the county, she suggested looking into alternative types of farming, such as crops for renewable energy.

Jack Southworth, longtime rancher in the Seneca area, said Grant County’s biggest problem may be that “it’s prettier than it is productive,” but he still believes ranching will be around in some form in the future.

“Grant County is not a good place for agriculture. It probably never was. It probably never will be … Therein lies the opportunity,” he quipped.

Southworth cited the challenges: the county is remote, it’s not the low-cost producer of anything, and over half the land is in public ownership. Further, he said, abandoned horses – known popularly as “wild horses” – have a more secure access to grazing on public lands than the cattle ranchers who hold federal permits.

Even so, he said, there will be opportunities for agriculture in 2062, a century after the gold rush.

The positives are that consumers are seeking natural crops and becoming more selective about where and how their food is produced. He expects to see agriculture gravitate toward more specialty crops.

He said the county’s ranches need to build on their successes, create networks of buyers and sellers, and promote their environmental services – the work they do to enhance clean air and water and restore the land.

Tourism

Tourism should be a growth industry for Grant County, according to two speakers.

“Tourism is a viable industry,” said Sharon Mogg, Chamber of Commerce director and a former Albany resident. “Albany was a timber town, and tourism helped offset the challenges facing that industry.”

She said the Chamber’s role is to help support local business, showcase the region and market for tourism.

She and other speakers noted the county’s low profile statewide.

Stephanie Walters, manager of the Grant County Fairgrounds, noted that information about Grant County is lacking on several tourism websites.

“We need to let Oregonians know where we are,” she said, by tapping into those resources that already are marketing the state.

Walters also saw niche opportunities for the county in several areas that already are being touted by state promotional materials. She cited agritourism, which ranges from farmers markets to ranch stays, and a genre called cultural/heritage/tribal.

“Boy, do we have that,” she said. Examples: Kam Wah Chung, Depot Park, Grant County Historical Museum, the Ranch and Rodeo Museum, and the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument.

People drawn to such facilities are “a group that spends more, stays longer and is more likely to use hotels, motels and resorts.”

Other activities that could draw tourists include snow sports, hunting, hiking, birding and bicycling. Walters said golf could be another tourism asset for Grant County, as the local courses are inexpensive, uncrowded and affordable for families on vacation.

She and several other speakers noted the 860 miles of groomed snowmobile trails in the county, an asset developed through the volunteer corps of the Grant County Snow Ballers but one that is little known even among local residents.