Economic effects of wildfire risk reduction and source water protection projects in the Rio Grande River Basin in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado

Investments in landscape-scale restoration and fuels management projects can protect publicly managed trusts, enhance public health and safety, and help to preserve the many environmental goods and services enjoyed by the public. These investments can also support jobs and generate business sales activities within nearby local economies. This report investigates how investments made by the Rio Grande Water Fund (RGWF) on wildfire risk reduction and source water protection projects in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado affect local economic activity. To implement these projects, the RGWF spent a total of $855,000 in 2018 on contractors located in the Western States regional economy. Including direct and secondary effects, these expenditures supported an estimated 22 jobs, $1,089,000 in labor income, $1,324,000 in value added, and $1,907,000 in economic output in the 17 Western States economy. The majority (73 percent or $623,000) of these expenditures were made by hiring local businesses operating within a 13-county region in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado that comprises the RGWF project area. Including direct and secondary effects, local expenditures support an estimate 15 jobs, $676,000 in labor income, $791,000 in value added, and $1,120,000 in economic output within the 13-county RGWF project area. These results demonstrate how investments in wildfire risk reduction and source water protection projects can support jobs and livelihoods, small businesses, and rural economies in the Mountain West.