The New Rural West

For almost two decades, there was much bally-hooing among students of the West, that there were signs of a New West. The New West's economies were more urban based, less natural resource dependent. Our focus on the natural world would be amenity rather than resource driven. Gateway communities would spring up near the magnificent sights, such as Yellowstone, Yosemite, Canyonlands and Zion. For the longest time, eco-tourism was the buzzword. The much extended version of eco-tourism were all encompassing resort developments. Golf courses, spas, hiking trails, wildlife viewing, fly fishing. Everything was environmentally sensitive and the sun always shined. Names like Suncadia, Sun River, Tamarack where lots were sold, dreams were made.

And now, there is the New New West. Or perhaps a reversion to parts of the West that are familiar to old Westerns, the ghost towns. Ghost towns are the remnants of boom and busts. Mining towns such as Sunshine, Wallace,Virginia City, Cripple Creek. Logging towns like Granite Falls, Forks, Klamath Falls, Libby. Or fishing communities with empty harbors in Blaine, Coos Bay, and Westport. Now the new ghost towns are Yellowstone Club, Tamarack, Semiahmoo, and even Bend.

But unlike the old ghost towns where hoards of people stripped the land of trees, gold, silver, and the coastal waters of salmon and crab, these new "boomers" were developers who robbed the land of it's soul. They made the history of the area a moniker for their multimillion dollar developments, calling elaborate bars and restaurants names of things long buried by their greed. They co-opted Native American names and architecture, hanging Edward Curtis photos on the wall as if to authenticate the "western feel."

And now they are financially broke. More ghost towns. Torn up land with hulking, empty structures. And it seems the common theme among so many of these developments is the amount of leverage used by the developers. It wasn't their money. And the other common theme was the attempt by so many of them to appeal to the wealthy, or the wealthy-wanna-bes. Perhaps the lesson we may learn from these haunted developments is that there are not enough people willing to leverage their lives to live behind gated communities reeking of exclusivity. Certainly, that isn't part of the Western ethos of egalitarianism. It's as if these developers hadn't a clue what parts of the west remain in the air, the soil, the rivers despite their attempts to make it gated, exclusive, for the monied.

It's a good thing in the West, whether new or newer, that nature seemingly endures all our know-it-all follies and that the wind through the Ponderosa pines still reminds us that it will endure long after the Tamaracks and Horizons become dust.

You've Earned It, Now Enjoy It...

Recently, I went to a "resort community" near the border between Washington State and Canada. The focus of the resort is a hotel, Semiahmoo, and two golf courses. Clustered around the courses are housing developments, all behind gates. Along the spit of land jutting into the entrance of the Strait of Georgia, is the hotel and several condominiums. It is an area ripe for extensive real estate development.

And indeed, like ship wrecks washed up on the shore, there are two buildings next to the Semiahmoo hotel which are abandoned and in foreclosure. The Marin at Semiahmoo. With prices averaging in the high 600,000's, because, as the web site says, "you've earned it, now enjoy it." The developers, a couple from White Rock, British Columbia, were recently sued over the loan guarantees they made and the property itself is slated for a foreclosure sale in October. The development was intended to be elegant, a statement of good taste and enjoying the good life.

There is a second development, up near the golf courses, away from the marvelous spit and marina, called Horizon. It was supposed to be a planned unit development, placing over 400 hundred units on former pasture land of 140 acres. Oh, but it was going to be sustainable. On this beautiful piece of property are two more ghost buildings, a preview office and apparently a "show" home. There are hinges on rock pillars where apparently the gates were to be hung, wires sticking up from the ground, and pvc pipe everywhere. The self-described country boy developer apparently was put into receivership by his lender late in July.

Meanwhile, the land is torn up, concrete has been poured, and hulking, empty structures sit, attracting pigeons, sea gulls, and other wildlife.

Between these two projects, lenders are holding onto over 50 million dollars in loans. The two primary banks are relatively small and regional. 50 million must be a lot of money to them. The banks were egged on by amped up realtors and developers who, believed that rich Canadians like "hockey players who want to hide their money in the US," and others who desire the good life of the Pacific Northwest, would buy their projects. Bankers, developers, realtors foresaw millions in profits. They spun stories of quality materials, sustainable housing, elegant details, and rich life experiences if only we would buy their product.

There was nothing sustainable, elegant, rich, or of quality in what they produced. They were, like their brethren mortgages and re-finances, collateralized debt obligations, or derivatives, modern day economic Elmer Gantry's, promising something they could never deliver, believing they would be long gone before anyone caught up with them. Hidden behind limited liability corporations controlled by other limited liability corporations, these real people, probably don't even think they are or were part of the problem.

Meanwhile, the wind in Semiahmoo howls the motto of the past decade through the empty buildings: "you've earned it, now enjoy it."