Local knows best
by Dale Bohren
They say if you want to go fast, go alone; but if you want to go far, go together.
There has been a sentiment in Wyoming for generations that people value the same things: open spaces, our ability to enjoy recreation and wildlife, and safe communities that feel like home.
But in the past few years as our economy has begun to perk along, many people have worried that those values will be lost in the busy-ness of our ever faster lives and the onward march of economic and community development.
Land values certainly have risen, which offers huge profits for people who sell or develop their land. Traditionally, we in Wyoming have not cared much for somebody telling us what we can, or cannot, do on or with our property, or with our own money.
But they aren’t making any more land, and as things change in Wyoming, it could become a serious problem if growth and development take place with no coherence or plan.
I want the freedom to do whatever I want, but my neighbor … that could be a different story.
Wyoming is changing, like it or not. And it will continue to change. It is now generally accepted that we are not in a boom, but in a period of steady prosperity that is driven by global energy markets.
Wyoming’s State Geologist Ron Surdam said at the Governor’s Conference, “Building the Wyoming We Want,” that Wyoming is an energy supplier on the order of OPEC. Only a major worldwide recession would reduce the demand for Wyoming’s many mineral resources, he said.
Surdam argues that Wyoming should plan for “sustained prosperity.” He predicts that the current level of economic activity could boom. However, if the bottlenecks hampering shipping Wyoming’s mineral resources are removed. It looks like we should plan for a healthy economy and the changes that will come with it for the long term.
People attending the Governor’s Conference were not told what the state government will do to solve the growth problems for them. Rather, they were asked to define what they want Wyoming to look like in the next 30 years and what role they want to play themselves.
I think that is a smart approach. As popular as Dave Freudenthal seems to be, he won’t always be in the governor’s office to manage things just so.
So sparking the conversation and offering support in the planning and execution of initiatives developed by the nearly 500 people who cared enough to attend the conference seems like a good way to insure consistency in the long term.
The progress will belong to Wyoming people, not to one elected official, so it will not end when Freudenthal’s term is up.
The reality is that the people who really push economic development and determine how communities will grow are at the local level. They are county commissioners, city council members, city government staff, business people and activists of every description.
It makes sense to help provide the tools they need to do the job as they see it with cooperation and guidance from state elected officials and agencies to help with a consistent approach.
Preparing for a long-term healthy economy by empowering local governments and individuals to protect the elements that we love about our Wyoming is brilliant, really. It allows us all to go forward collectively ---like the saying goes, “if you want to go far, go together.”
And given the governor’s willingness to share the planning and execution of Wyoming’s future, I’d guess the most important part of the adage is, “If you want to go …”