IGNACIO – Rural communities in Southwest Colorado cannot rely on unchecked growth alone to secure their future. Instead, they should focus on keeping local dollars local.
That was the message from Laura Lewis Marchino, executive director of the Region 9 Economic Development District, during her presentation at the Four Corners Regional Economic Alliance Summit Thursday at the Sky Ute Casino.
Marchino said economic development is often framed around the idea of “grow baby, grow” – pursuing constant expansion and job creation. But for rural communities, growth is not so simple. What matters most, she said, is preventing “leakage,” or dollars leaving the community.
“If you can keep money in your community for as long as possible, you don’t need to keep filling the bucket,” she said. “You want to reduce what comes out of your community and increase what comes into your community.”
Money flows in through industries such as tourism, agriculture, timber and energy. It leaks out when residents spend their money elsewhere.
If too much money leaks out through online shopping or reliance on outside suppliers, the local economy shrinks.
“My only lecture to you is buy as local as you can,” she told the crowd. “If you can’t find it in your community, try your region. And if you can’t do that, then go online – but every time you go online, I want you to have some guilt.”
Marchino also underscored the need to tackle what she called “foundational issues” before larger economic development strategies can succeed. Rural communities, she said, are held back by gaps in infrastructure such as broadband, transportation and freight access. Many also struggle with basic services, including health care, child care and public transit.
Reliance on a single industry compounds the risk. Communities built around one sector – such as mining in Silverton or La Plata County’s reliance on long-departed natural gas revenue – face steep downturns when that sector falters.
Housing shortages and workforce gaps create additional barriers for growth, leaving businesses unable to expand even when demand exists.
But the unique geography of rural Southwest Colorado is also its strength, and employing the unique aspects and the closely intertwined communities is key, she explained.
Marchino stressed that communities must take an intentional, asset-based approach to growth.
“What makes you stand out?” she asked. “Being from a beautiful place is not unique.”
Instead, towns should create a niche, highlight their cultural or historic identity and build on assets only they can offer.
Silverton, for example, leaned into creativity to boost tourism during the winter slowdown by filling boarded-up windows with art, drawing visitors back downtown. When paired with consumer choices to buy local, she said, such efforts keep dollars circulating within the community and foster long-term economic resilience.
Collaboration was another recurring theme in Marchino’s talk. Many institutions – including hospitals, colleges and airports – already serve the region as a whole. Thinking and planning regionally, she said, creates the critical mass needed to sustain infrastructure and businesses that small towns cannot support alone.
“It really creates our social safety net if we can look at how we build partnerships more regionally,” she said. “That’s where I think counties in particular have a lot of opportunities to work within the communities and their ecosystem.”
Local partnerships among businesses also make a difference. In rural areas, where distances are vast and resources limited, collaboration can reduce costs, improve efficiency and keep more money circulating close to home.
This can’t happen without consistency, relationships and trust, Marchino said.
With frequent turnover among elected officials, communities must continually market and educate to ensure leaders understand both the challenges and the opportunities. Creating collaborative, entrepreneurial ecosystems, sharing lessons among businesses and nurturing an energetic, supportive culture community-wide are all part of that process.
“I’m a big believer that if existing businesses are happy, they will help you with the recruitment,” she said. “When you think of some of our businesses downtown, and you go in and they are all gung-ho and friendly, and someone asks, ‘How did you do that?’ – they will share. And that’s what we really want to nurture, is that idea that we are that community with that energy.”
jbowman@durangoherald.com
