Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 20, 2020)
Opinion 4A Tuesday, October 20, 2020 Other Views Population in the West grows, churns ver since 1790, when the U.S. Census started keeping track of such things, the migratory fl ow of non-Indigenous people within the United States has moved from east to west, into lands they erro- neously saw as a blank slate, and not so erroneously as a land rife with natural resources to exploit. Ameri- cans still are mobile and JONATHAN still moving THOMPSON West, but over WRITERS ON THE RANGE time, the tra- jectory of the human fl ow has shifted to something more complex. It’s a sign of changing economics but also, perhaps, one of a maturing region. During the 19th century the federal government lured colonizers West with vast land giveaways. The masses came seeking what Frederick Jackson Turner called “the richest free gift that was ever spread out before civilized man.” Erasing from view the peoples who had lived on the land for millennia, he described the West as “vacant” — an irresistible “opportunity for a new order of things.” During the Dust Bowl and Great Depression, hun- dreds of thousands of people fl ocked from the lower Midwest to California, seeking refuge from drought and economic distress. The trend continued after World War II, as a wave of returning soldiers and their families moved westward for opportunities in the growing cities of the region, along with the oil and gas booms and the uranium frenzy and the big coal-power buildup on the Colorado Plateau. Those trends continue in many parts of the West, but over the last few years, some of the same migra- tion-magnet counties of the past have seen a greater number of people leave — often for other parts of the region — than move in. Take Farmington in northwestern New Mexico. Once a quiet agricultural town, a succession of energy-related booms beginning in mid-century drew droves of job and opportunity seekers from all over the nation. The pop- ulation of the county ballooned from 18,000 in 1950 to 130,000 60 years later. When natural gas prices plum- meted at the end of 2008, the main pillar of the economy crumbled. Energy workers followed the drilling rigs to more lucrative oil patches, and the population started shrinking and continues to do so as the coal industry also erodes away. The pattern — of as much as 8% of the population moving away — is repeated in other natural gas- and coal-dependent counties, including Sublette and Camp- bell counties in Wyoming, Rio Blanco County in Colo- rado, and Uintah County in Utah. Drill rigs and draglines — or the lack thereof — are not the only factors driving migratory movement in the West. Denver, which once housed enough energy executives to inspire the Dynasty television series, still attracts migrants, only this time they are millennials coming to take advantage of high-wage jobs, a growing marijuana economy and recreational and cultural ame- nities. But the population drains from some of the agri- cultural, non-resort counties of Colorado and every other state in the West. In California, the exodus is outpacing the infl ux, with Los Angeles County losing about 30,000 people a year and the state of California some 200,000 per year. Many of them are equity refugees — cashing out of the infl ated California real estate market and putting their money into places such as Maricopa County, Arizona, home of Phoenix. It’s one of the nation’s fastest-growing places, despite this July experiencing the city’s hottest month in the past 125 years. Reasonable housing costs in Phoenix and a revital- ized downtown remain a draw, and energy-intensive air conditioning, for those who can afford it, helps offset the brutal temperatures — even as it helps trigger them. Although coronavirus-era migration data has not yet been released, the real estate brokerage Redfi n reports that, after taking a dip this spring, the rural real estate market nationwide has taken off much faster than in urban areas. Amenity-rich, rural places such as Chaffee County, Colorado, or Bonner County, Idaho, have seen notice- able spikes in home prices and home sales over the last few months. This may signal a new wave of urban migrants crashing into the suburban and rural West once again. You could even call them COVID migrants. ——— Jonathan Thompson is a contributor to Writers on the Range, writersontherange.org, a nonprofi t dedicated to spurring lively conversation about the West. He’s a veteran reporter on the West and the author of “River of Lost Souls: The Science, Politics, and Greed Behind the Gold King Mine Disaster.” E Letters Moyal genuinely cares about community’s well-being Two summers ago, my family made the long move from Alaska to La Grande. Through word of mouth, we were fortunate to land in a rental prop- erty owned by Dave Moyal. We were struggling to fi nd short-term housing, but Dave welcomed us into a beautiful old house he was ren- ovating near downtown. Not only was he a great landlord, he was an amazing source of information about the area. Dave also helped get us involved in local civic, environmental and community issues. We could tell right away that Dave genuinely cares about the broader well-being of the La Grande community. He also pro- vided us a wonderful home for us to get started in a new town and watch our daughter take her fi rst steps. We now own our own house a few blocks away, but Dave still stops by to update us on local matters. Dave is a friendly, knowledgeable and active member of the commu- nity and I wholeheartedly encourage everyone to support his election to the La Grande City Council in November. Casey Brown La Grande Denise Wheeler leads by example We have known Denise Wheeler for 18 years. Our associations have included many settings: music and theater, business, academic, social and service organizations. Denise is kind, principled, patriotic and devoted. She is a compassionate woman who leads by example. We have met few people who vol- unteer and serve as frequently, ener- getically and selfl essly as Denise. It would be hard to fi nd a fi ner woman anywhere, and as such, we feel there Write to us The Observer welcomes letters to the editor. Letters are limited to 350 words and must be signed and carry the author’s address and phone number (for verifi cation purposes only). Email your letters to news@lagrandeobserver.com or mail them to the address below. is no better person to serve our community on the La Grande City Council. We hope you will help us in supporting her. Julie Pettit and William “Trey” Pettit La Grande Moyal is well-qualifi ed to face city issues I will be voting for David Moyal for Position 6 on the La Grande City Council. I have known Mr. Moyal since he moved to La Grande and believe he will be a good addition to the council. He is knowledgeable in how the city functions, having served on the budget committee for four years and more recently on the parks and recreation committee. David also has engaged in other civic activities. For example, he provided many hours of service helping the Blue Mountain Nordic Club maintain its snow-grooming equipment. His experience in health care and in business coupled with his work on advisory committees for the city of La Grande convince me that Mr. Moyal is well-qualifi ed to face the substantive issues that come before the city council. Please join me in voting David Moyal for Position 6 on the La Grande City Council. Bruce Johnson La Grande I’m just so tired of the all the nonsense What choice do we have? From a former liberal Portlander, a gay male with morals, I stand at a cross- roads like our country does. I have to choose between two greaseballs, carrying luggage we all knew they carried. I do not consider myself socialist, Republican nor Democrat. I am a conservative American with freedoms, thank God. I, too, am tired of the nonsense from the top. We chose this soup. Now we gotta eat it. Max Lorelle Enterprise Howard is the kind of councilor I want guiding our future I would like to urge everyone to reelect Nicole Howard to the La Grande City Council Position 2. I have known Nicole for 15 years and was her colleague for much of that time at Eastern Oregon University. Nicole is one of the most precise and careful thinkers I know, able to analyze and understand issues with a view to fi nding solutions to the challenges faced by any community. She is keenly interested in the var- ious topics of concern to the citizens of La Grande, from education to the environment to support for families to making the city the most vibrant and livable it can be. As a person, Nicole is smart, honest, funny and compassionate. She is a woman of integrity and insight. She has a historian’s sense of the interconnections between where we have been as a community and where we are going, or even better, what we can truly become if we work at it. Please cast your vote for Nicole Howard so she can continue her work on the city council. She is the kind of city councilor I want guiding the future of La Grande. Don’t you? Kathleen Dahl La Grande
