Photo by Cindy Bowen
Newly-elected WIR second vice president, Roger Chinn, McKenzie County, N.D.,
is sworn in by NACo President Michael Hightower.
With refreshing breezes off the Pacific and an Eden's worth of tropical birds, plants and flowers, the most successful Western Interstate Region Conference (WIR) in a decade kicked off May 22 on the Garden Island and County of Kauai, Hawaii. More than 500 delegates gathered to examine the theme of travel, tourism and recreation, and its promise for the future of public lands counties in the Western states.
Delegates adopted a new slate of WIR officers. They are: McKenzie County (N.D.) Commissioner Roger Chinn, second vice president; Garfield County (Utah) Commissioner Louise Liston, first vice president; and Jackson County (Colo.) Commissioner Dennis V. Brinker, WIR president.
In addition, Noel Williams, former Lincoln County, Mont. commissioner and WIR president, was tapped for the Dale Sowards Award, which recognizes significant service on behalf of public lands counties.
As an organization, WIR - which predates NACo - represents the interests of those counties throughout the United States (mostly in the West) that include extensive areas of federal public lands, such as national forests and parks. Most are rural in nature. Yet these counties, in many cases, are also among the fastest growing in the country.
At their Thursday meeting, WIR Board members adopted several bylaw revisions, minor in nature, made to bring the organization's bylaws into conformity with standard bylaw language. Board members also voted to invest a portion of the Public Lands Trust Funds into higher interest-bearing accounts.
They likewise supported the adoption of a memorandum of understanding between NACo and the Bureau of Land Management that would stipulate responsibilities for collecting data about the implementation of the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) Program. Last year, Department of Interior appropriations legislation directed the department to present a report on the PILT Program by Sept. 30, 1997.
Photo by Beverly Schlotterbeck
Catron County (N.M.) Treasurer Jan Porter and Otero County (N.M.) Commissioner
Ronnie Rardin discuss issues at the WIR Board meeting, May 21.
NACo's Board of Directors also met during the conference, focusing principally on financial and organizational issues. Both the Audit Committee's and management's financial reports were adopted. NACo management projected a $650,000 surplus at the end of the year, due mainly to changes in NACo's building operations.
The Board also endorsed significant bylaws revisions for the association. These revisions will be presented to NACo members for adoption at the Annual Conference in July, and will also be published in County News, prior to the meeting.
The revisions, undertaken by the Bylaws Task Force under the direction of NACo First Vice President Betty Lou Ward, were made to comply with Delaware state law - where the association is incorporated - and to address several issues raised by incoming NACo president, Randy Johnson. President Michael Hightower had also charged the task force with examining the issue of affiliate representation and voting status on the Board of Directors.
Finally, the Board endorsed an application for affiliate status from the National Association of Volunteer Programs in Local Government. Final approval would depend upon a vote by the general membership at the Annual Conference.
At the opening general session, delegates heard from three speakers, all intimately involved with one of the nation's most lucrative and growing industries - tourism. Rick Egged, Hawaii's state tourism director, gave delegates an overview of the development of the travel industry in his state, pointing out the dramatic transition the state has made over the past 40 years.
Ken Smith, director of external affairs for the U.S. Department of the Interior, discussed his agency's efforts to work with public lands officials in carrying out the Interior Department's mission to make certain that all Americans have access to recreation in public lands.
Lyle Laverty, director of recreation, heritage and wilderness resources for the U.S. Forest Service, reminded delegates that while they may be very comfortable discussing issues affecting the natural resource base of their economies, they also need to begin factoring in tourism as they plan for their community growth. "The economic stability of the West is linked to public lands, and tourism is all about public lands."
Luncheon speaker, Assistant Secretary of the Interior Bob Armstrong, warned delegates that the demand for public lands on the part of the traveler and tourist can only go up. Americans are in the midst of the largest migration since the '50s, when city dwellers moved to the suburbs, Armstrong said. Now, they seek to escape the suburbs.
WIR workshop sessions focused on topics of special interest or of special impact for public lands counties. For instance, delegates could attend sessions on "NACo's Forest Health Initiative," "Grazing '97," "Sustaining Western Communities" or "Invasive Weeds." Or, they could find out how geographic information systems (GIS), a sophisticated computer mapping application, assists county managers in decision-making, or learn how NACo's National Cooperative Purchasing Alliance can bring big county purchasing power to small county needs.