A new report shows that protected public lands are a competitive economic advantage in southern New Mexico and Doña Ana County. The analysis confirms that protecting the world-class public lands surrounding Las Cruces will aid the region’s economic development strategy.
“Permanently protecting the iconic Organ Mountains and the surrounding natural treasures will boost our economy and benefit Doña Ana County. This Headwaters report explains how stimulating tourism, attracting new residents, and creating jobs goes hand in hand with permanently protecting public lands”, said Richard Majestic from the High Tech Consortium of Southern New Mexico.…
“Southern New Mexico’s competitive strengths and mix of economic activities have evolved in recent years,” noted report author Ben Alexander. “People are moving to the region because of its high quality of life. Services industries that employ a wide range of people–from doctors and engineers to teachers and accountants–are driving economic growth and make up the large majority of jobs today. These industries are raising wages and, along with rapid increases in non-labor income from investment and retirement sources, are helping to elevate per capita income.”…
The Doña Ana County case is part of a series of research by Headwaters Economics on the economic role of protected federal lands in the West looking at both past performance and several perspective case studies.
For example, Headwaters Economics recently completed a study of the economic performance of communities adjacent to large national monuments in the West created in the last generation (a total of 17 monuments), finding that nearby economies grew, adding new jobs, and per capita income increased, in real terms, in every case after the creation of these national monuments. Nearby National Monuments like White Sands receive between 500,000 and 600,000 visitors every year, making large economic impacts that could only grow in Las Cruces.