More Economic Disruption, continued |
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Drought hammers hard here, as we now know. Drought cost Colorado over $1 billion just in 2002. Utah was hit so hard that every county in the state qualified for disaster relief, and 2,600 Utahans lost their agricultural jobs. New Mexico lost $279 million in income from livestock production. Montana ranchers were forced to cull 150,000 cattle from their herds in three years, bringing the state’s cattle population to a 40-year low in 2004. Wildfires affect property owners, the tourism industry and taxpayers. In Colorado’s worst-ever wildfire season, the summer of 2002, fires destroyed over 1,000 buildings, a third of them homes, and had a total price tag of more than $100 million. That summer also showed that wildfires can keep summer tourists away in droves. The quality of life here is the West's top selling point to businesses, workers, and families alike. Having less snow, less water, more drought, and more wildfire would threaten much of what makes locating, moving and living here so attractive to so many businesses and people. |
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