Mountain West Confronts the Population Pressures of the 21st Century

• Christopher Daly
• October 1, 2019
• Forum Papers
• Forum Paper
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Mountain West Confronts the Population Pressures of the 21st Century

An NPG Forum Paper
by Christopher J. Daly

INTRODUCTION

If there is one area in the United States where people treasure their land, it’s America’s Mountain West.

There are eight states that comprise this vast area: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.

All of these states are rich with millions of acres of plains, prairies, mountains, valleys, deserts and river canyons that are still unimpaired by development. And a large percentage of the population that presently inhabits these eight states, who recognize their vulnerability to ever-increasing population pressures, are eager to see that the core beauty of these natural places is not diminished as the 21st century continues to play out.

However, in an area where a huge number of federal, state and local agencies make rules regarding how land is used, there is a constant battle over how, when, and where it can and should be preserved and or developed.

The list of the groups that influence these determinations is varied and extensive. It includes federal decision-makers including the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, Army Corps of Engineers and others; powerful and influential oil and gas interests; state agencies; interstate commissions; highly vocal national and local environmental groups; and many, many others.

The push and pull of these forces working together – or against each other – will write the future of much of the West. Herein, we take a closer look at the present battles being waged on a number of different fronts and the consequences that right or wrong decision-making in the decades ahead will have in shaping a sustainable future for the countless millions of people who will make this area their home.

However, the numbers continue to grow and a number of states in this area continue to rank as the fastest-growing in the nation. While many Americans are well-aware that Arizona, Colorado, Nevada and Utah are gaining huge numbers of people annually, recent years have also found the residents of traditionally population-stable Idaho and Montana must also deal with a fast-rising population that is rapidly changing their bucolic lifestyles. At present, only New Mexico and Wyoming have seemingly escaped the significant population woes brought on by too many people.

As increasing population impacts almost every aspect of American life, the varied states of the Mountain West struggle to accept the rising tide of humanity in countless ways. State governments must adjust their spending budgets and programs accordingly. Local governments are confronted with the need to quickly provide more roads, sewers, hospitals, and schools – often much sooner than planned. And, in dealing with challenges on the state, regional, or local level, many of these actions will often have some impact on federal lands, with the omnipotent bureaucrats in the federal government constantly present to rule on what can and can’t be done.

The soaring population numbers that result from the 2020 U.S. Census are sure to reveal an up-to-date picture of the growing population crisis currently plaguing the
Mountain West and present to both leaders and citizens a wide array of challenges that must be confronted if this area is to remain a practical, sustainably balanced environment in which to live, work, and recreate.

POPULATION TRENDS

The annual estimated census assessment released by the Census Bureau at the end of 2018 provided a “snapshot” of population statistics in the eight states of the Rocky
Mountain West.

In that report, we find that Utah’s listing as one of the fastest growing states is due to a combination of a high fertility rate and retaining a high percentage of young
people who look to settle in for the long term and make their careers in the ‘Beehive State.’

The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, WA) recently carried a report that the neighboring state of Idaho’s population will grow at three times the national rate through 2025. That estimate is based on a new forecast model developed by an Idaho Department of Labor regional economist that shows the over-65 population, which is currently just 14.7 percent of Idaho’s population, is predicted to account for 34.4 percent of the total growth – with high levels of in-migration, especially to urban counties.

PREVIEW

Twenty-five years ago, former Colorado governor Richard D. Lamm, a national leader in the movement to stabilize America’s population, wrote:

“I suggest that one of the dominant environmental issues in the West’s future will be: How many people can live satisfied lives here? Population size is a factor of three variables: birth rates, death rates, and immigration. Birth, death and territory. Can any other issue cover such deep atavistic feelings? The issue will divide friends and even family, but it will not go away…

…One truth the West must eventually understand is that its population cannot continue to grow forever. The West has a fragile ecosystem and humans are part of the ecosystem. We are not immune from the laws of nature however clever our technologies. We must ultimately worry about carrying capacity, sustainability, and how we affect our surrounding environment.”

Governor Lamm’s concerns about the fast-growing population in America’s West were very much on target – and are shared by countless millions of western residents today…

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