Yellowstone-Teton Region’s Prosperity Will Require Cross-Boundary Collaboration. Yellowstone Business Partnership

January 6, 2009

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Communities in the Yellowstone-Teton region have much to gain from greater cross-boundary collaboration, according to a business group whose members are located in 25 Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming counties that surround Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks.

In 2008 the Yellowstone Business Partnership http://www.yellowstonebusiness.org/ (YBP) used a $150,000 USDA Rural Development grant to convene six multi-county task forces and explore economic development issues of greatest concern to their particular sub-region. Topics studied included public transportation needs, land use planning coordination, availability of affordable housing, and potential for recreation/tourism development.

After a year of public meetings and in-depth research on these seasonally-related economic challenges, YBP has identified several areas where cities, counties and businesses would benefit by collaborating across jurisdictional boundaries. Recommendations include:

· Create a tri-state transportation cooperative that establishes an integrated system of private and public operators across Greater Yellowstone. Connect airports, retail centers, gateway communities and area attractions to serve residents and visitors in all four seasons.

· Assist businesses and tourist attractions with workforce training, energy efficiency, marketing expertise, technology upgrades, financing for expansion/research, new market development and organizational capacity. Create an overarching brand used by all tourism partners to convey a single, consistent image and message about the Greater Yellowstone region.

· Provide opportunities for city and county land-use planning staffs to share computerized map layers and other planning tools that will improve their understanding of the region’s demographic trends and growth patterns. Develop baseline “affordability bands” for needed residential and seasonal housing in all parts of the Yellowstone-Teton region.

· Expand the regional conversation by forming more formal coalitions, in particular, a regional council of governments. Such an organization would bring community officials into regular contact with each other with an eye towards discussing collaborative ventures.

“In our proposal to USDA, we stated that we would improve regional understanding, gain commitments to regional action, and build new professional and support networks,” said YBP Executive Director Janice Brown. “I am pleased to report that YBP has met all three outcomes, and I look forward to briefing community leaders regarding our project findings and next steps over the coming months.”

James Klessens, CEO of Forward Cody, an economic development corporation involved in the project, recognizes the importance of YBP’s collaborative process: “Sometimes we need to open our eyes to what others are doing differently in their areas to get ideas on what we can do in our own backyard. There’s no reason to reinvent the wheel.”

Shannon Madsen, Program Officer for USDA Rural Development in Blackfoot, Idaho, is impressed with the quality of the YBP results and diversity of participants. According to Madsen, “The regional reports have shed light on areas where USDA can help. For instance, the research [for both Eastern Idaho and the Billings-Cody area] showed that a lot of little towns don’t have the capacity to fully implement their current land use plans. USDA Rural Development can help them with that.”

Copies of the six sub-regional reports may be reviewed on the YBP website by going to http://www.yellowstonebusiness.org/o ... c_research/ and clicking on the Sub Regions in the left menu bar.

The report specific to your area is entitled: Regional Land Use and Economic Planning for the Billings-Cody Sub-Region.

About YBP:

The Yellowstone Business Partnership is an organization of businesses in the Yellowstone –Teton region, an area encompassing 25 counties in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. Its 250 members are dedicated to preserving a healthy environment and shaping a prosperous and sustainable future for communities of the Yellowstone-Teton region. For more information contact Janice Brown, Executive Director, at (208) 528-0269 or visit the YBP website: http://www.yellowstonebusiness.org.

Contact: Janice Brown

Executive Director, YBP

(208) 528-0269

(406) 579-3853

jbrown@yellowstonebusiness.org

Michelle Hippler

Sustainable Solutions, Inc

office: 406-259-2619

mobile: 406-697-7173

michelle@sustainablesmallbiz.com

http://www.SustainableSmallBiz.com

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