Farmington offers model for outdoor destination activities

FARMINGTON — If you ask Farmington Mayor Nate Duckett, it’s a group effort. 
Over the past several years, this city of 40,000 that makes most New Mexicans think of the oil and gas industry has begun successfully marketing itself as a destination for outdoor recreation, bringing an increasing number of visitors to San Juan County in search of fly fishing, rafting, off-roading, mountain biking — and even to explore the purported stomping grounds of cryptids like Bigfoot. 
Speaking at an endeavOR New Mexico outdoor recreation business alliance event held after the New Mexico Outdoor Economics Conference last Friday, Duckett thanked various business leaders in attendance who he said were part of a community-based team that extends beyond city limits.
“There’s 300,000 people who come to this community, and each of us plays a part in welcoming everybody who utilizes our services, shops at our stores and our restaurants and buys our goods,” he said, adding that those businesses are “all contributing to the greater good” of Farmingtonians.
The fact that Farmington played host to the fourth N.M. Outdoor Economics Conference “was very symbolic” of the city’s growing success in marketing itself as a mecca for recreationists, Duckett said.
Adopting its Outdoor Recreation Industry Initiative, or “ORII,” in 2019 put that facet of economic development at the top of Farmington’s to-do list. And being just a short drive from Durango, Colo., and Moab, Utah, has only contributed to the area’s early success in attracting visitors — as does the basic municipal infrastructure that was built in what used to be the state’s most booming oil and gas patch.
Among other things, Farmington’s ORII provides a framework to support and incentivize businesses like Desert River Guides, a rafting company which is now headquartered in a city-owned building adjacent to the Animas River. 
“The city of Farmington adopted a resolution that they were going to make outdoor recreation a priority, and that’s what you gotta do first,” said James Glover, founder of the Farmington-based endeavOR alliance. “Then, the county followed suit.”  
San Juan County Manager Mike Stark said the decision to join with Farmington was a no-brainer.
“When I moved here in 1999, my eyes were wide-open to all the amazing activities within a half-hour’s drive away,” Stark said. “It doesn’t get any better than this, and I couldn’t understand why we weren’t marketing this.” 
Years later, after becoming county manager, that’s exactly what Stark signed on to do.
If Farmington’s path to outdoor recreation notoriety is any indication, Silver City and Grant County are on the right path. A push to improve trails, open space and other infrastructure — before inviting the rest of the world to town for vacation — is underway.
The drive to find new revenue in outdoor recreation is something that many southwestern communities that are, or used to be, economically dependent on extractive industries have in common with Farmington.
With 10,000 residents, and less infrastructure than Farmington, Silver City provides arguably more gateway access to outdoor recreation, with the Gila River, the Continental Divide Trail and the Gila National Forest all nearby, to name just a few of the hiking, camping, biking, birding, kayaking, fishing, sightseeing and, increasingly, off-roading opportunities.
Figuring out how to accommodate a surge in visiting recreationists without diminishing the quality of life for Silver Citians isn’t impossible, but it’s a challenge that officials here are aware of — particularly when it comes to motorized recreation. 
Tony Boone of Timberline TrailCraft in Salida, Colo., said that finding a balance between motorized and non-motorized recreation is key.
“We’ve found success with creating [motorized recreation] magnet areas in Salida,” Boone said during a panel on trail-building, planning and maintenance moderated by Aztec Mayor Victor Snover on Day 3 of last week’s conference.
“Basically, we’ve taken existing land use and encouraged users to go to the areas that are developed for them — not that they don’t mix, but they go primarily to the areas most suitable” for whichever outdoor recreation activity people are pursuing, Boone said. 
In the Gila National Forest, for example, motorized trails in the Burro Mountains off N.M. 90 are popular among off-road enthusiasts. 
Other issues include what Assistant Town Manager James Marshall, who now leads Silver City’s Community Development Department, simply called “bandwidth.”
“We’ve got so many balls in the air right now, with the new recreation center [set to break ground next spring], expanding Gough Park, working with the Five Points Initiative and the Waterworks, the Silva Creek and San Vicente Creek trails and improving safety on Boston Hill,” he said. “At some point, we run out of bandwidth. 
“And it’s a prime focus to improve the quality of life for the citizens of Grant County,” Marshall continued. “As we develop recreation opportunities, we’re not necessarily catering to somebody who may visit for a few days. It’s important for the residents here to have good recreational opportunities every day that they’re here.”
Marshall commented on a housing crisis in Silver City that’s been amplified by the proliferation of short-term rentals and a real estate market that’s tighter than it has been in at least three decades. 
Putting a moratorium on new short-term rental business licenses “is a discussion that’s been put on the table, and it’s something that we’re paying attention to,” Marshall said. “We’re watching some other communities that have run out of housing because of short-termers. 
“It’s impacted their ability to have workforce housing, so it’s like the chicken and the egg,” he continued. “You need local businesses to be thriving to support tourists, but if all the housing is taken up by short-term rentals, there’s nowhere for the employees of those businesses to live.”
Grant County is working with planning consultants SE Group to develop a comprehensive outdoor recreation and trails master plan.
Priscilla Shoup, who left Silver City’s Community Development Department to take the job of planning and community development director for Grant County, said that the planning process had just begun, with SE Group holding focus group meetings to solicit ideas and opinions from recreationists, the business community and other stakeholders.
Those stakeholders include, according to Shoup, “non-motorized trail users and motorized trail users; hunters, anglers and traditional users; and water-based recreation users or alternative-based recreation users.”
“SE Group and Grant County has gathered a list of people in the community who fall into these groups and invited them, so we’re in phase one of this process,” she said, adding that interested parties may contact her by email at [email protected], or call her office at 575-574-0007 to request an invitation to one of the meetings.
Shoup encouraged all Grant Countians to visit get outsidegrantcounty.org to take a 15-minute survey to ensure that the county’s final master plan, which will guide future outdoor recreation development projects, reflects the needs and values of the community.
Geoffrey Plant may be reached at [email protected] press.com.