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Resident says San Juan County’s shift to tourism left local economy exposed to BLM decisions
Summary
A resident told the meeting transcript that since 1988 San Juan County’s economy moved from extractive industries to tourism, leaving the county—with about 8% private property—vulnerable when federal land-management decisions pull permits or restrict access.
A resident told the meeting transcript that San Juan County experienced a long-term economic shift away from extractive industries toward tourism that left the community vulnerable to federal land-management decisions.
“Basically, in ’88, the end of 88, and a lot of clients and that’s 1988. A lot of the clients that were involved in extractive industries, a couple of logging companies, a lot of seismograph and exploration, and so very mineral based, economy here. And you just see that dust, like, being shut down. You San Juan County’s got 8% private property. Most of that is is agriculture, and then the rest is all government controlled,” the resident said.
The commenter described watching businesses feel “the pinch” as permits were pulled: “So from a business standpoint, I’m watching clients, feel the feel the pinch of having their permits pulled,” the resident said, and said federal messaging encouraged tourism as an alternative revenue source: “You can make a lot of money in tourism.”
The resident warned that relying on tourism can be fragile when much land is federally controlled. “But once you give up all your productive industries, then the BLM or, you know, Bureau of Land Management comes in and says, you know what? We really don’t like tourism either. And they can they can flip your your economy off like a light switch,” the resident said.
The transcript does not record a formal response or an action arising from the comment. The speaker placed the county’s private-property share at about 8 percent and named extractive activities — logging, seismic exploration and mining — as historical pillars of the local economy before the shift toward tourism. No statutes, ordinances or formal motions were referenced in the provided excerpt.
