Summary

This study examines well-being in 130 community aggregations in the Klamath region. Six distinct social and economic subregions were delineated within the study area to facilitate analysis and discussion. Delineation of these subregions was based, among other factors, on transportation patterns, service centers, land use, and how people view themselves in relation to the land.

The use of community aggregations as a basic unit of analysis is a significant advance in well-being assessment. While county-level data are often favored by researchers due to wide availability, these data are inappropriate and misleading when used to discuss the well-being of communities. It is inappropriate, for example, to discuss the well-being of residents of the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation based on statistics for Humboldt County as a whole, or to discuss the community of Salyer using data for Trinity County. This error of "misplaced concreteness" and misuse of county-level data is particularly egregious in counties with large metropolitan areas where the characteristics of urban populations overwhelm those of small rural communities in county statistics. In the Klamath region study, well-being was assessed at the community level using aggregations of census block groups as the primary unit of analysis. While imperfect representations of communities, they do represent, however, meaningful social units for which comprehensive data are available.

Community well-being is determined by integrating a measure of socioeconomic status with a measure of community capacity. Socioeconomic status was assessed using a scale of socioeconomic factors developed from 1990 Census of Population and Housing data, and included measures of poverty, education, home ownership, unemployment, and children in households receiving public assistance. The most significant drawback of the census data is that it is eight years old at the time of this writing. These eight year old data do not reflect the effects of population shifts, mill closures, and other events that have occurred since their collection. The strengths of the census data, however, far outweigh their disadvantage. This consistent set of data is available for each aggregation in the region, allowing comparisons that illustrate social patterns among the communities in the region from which much can be discerned. Moreover, this assessment creates a framework and can easily be updated with the next set of dicennial census data.

Included with this report is a comprehensive set of data that adds a dynamic component to the social well-being assessment. In addition to capacity ratings and socioeconomic scale scores for each aggregation in the region, these data include socioeconomic scale components, and extensive 1990 Census of Population and Housing data compiled both at the block group aggregation level and at other census defined geographic levels. These data are linked to both polygon and point based geographic information system (GIS) coverages representing all 130 community block group aggregations in the Klamath region. The GIS data provide opportunities for graphic depiction of various measures of well-being and facilitate additional spatial analysis.

Capacity is defined as the ability of residents to respond to community needs, as well as to create and take advantage of opportunities. It is comprised of physical, human and social capital. These three dimensions of capacity play varying roles in the overall capacity of each aggregation, but social capital is the most important of the three. Low capacity, in general, reflects not only lower well-being but a reduced ability and likelihood of aggregation residents to improve local well-being, including their socioeconomic conditions. Capacity reflects current conditions, and was determined by local experts who participated in facilitated workshops in each of the counties.

The integration of the socioeconomic status scale and capacity allows for a multidimensional and comprehensive assessment of well-being. The socioeconomic scale offers a static perspective of well-being, while capacity offers a dynamic measure reflecting the current ability of local communities to foster an environment in which local residents can identify and address their needs and goals. Well-being increases as either capacity or socioeconomic status increase, and aggregations with high socioeconomic status and high capacity have the highest levels of well-being. Eleven percent of all aggregations in the Klamath region have high community well-being. Just under one-fifth have low well-being. The largest proportion of the population lives in aggregations with moderate or moderately high levels of well-being. Thirty-two percent of the aggregations have moderate well-being and 40 percent have moderately-high well-being.

Community well-being is not a proxy for individual well-being. Personal and other factors influence individual and family well-being. Additionally, ethnic, occupational or other groups within a community may collectively experience a lower level of well-being. Mill workers, for example, are disproportionately affected when a mill closes. Local experts mention that racism and ethnic tensions are present in some community aggregations, which, at a minimum, leads to reduced well being for the object groups. Nonetheless, by definition, communities with higher well-being offer more opportunities to all residents, are less likely to have obtrusive discriminatory practices, and provide all individuals with an increased likelihood of enjoying a higher level of well-being.

The aggregations of Redding, Eureka, Medford and Klamath Falls comprise 37 percent of the total population. Not unlike the "misplaced concreteness" problem of community assessment with county-level data, the four large urban aggregations challenge the efficacy of the study methodology. Originally developed for smaller, rural communities, this methodology may lack the robustness necessary to adequately capture the well-being of 50,000 people within a single aggregation. A more appropriate approach to understanding well-being within these cities might focus on neighborhoods or another unit smaller than the entire city. Detailed urban analysis, however, is beyond both the scope and objective of this study. Nonetheless, the study methodology is effective for at least 90 percent of the aggregations, including the 82 percent with a population of less then 5000 and the eight percent with populations between 5,000 and 10,000. Further analysis is needed to assess the robustness of this methodology for the remaining seven percent of the aggregations with populations between 10,000 and 18,000.

The following observations about well-being are based on expert knowledge that was shared in the workshops pertaining to capacity and on analysis of socioeconomic information.

Information provided by local experts in workshops was generally excellent, but clashes between new and old residents were reported so often that they could be epidemic, endemic, or a story commonly told. Local experts frequently mentioned that clashes between newcomers and old-timers reduce community capacity. The recurrence of this comment compels the questions of when and under what circumstances residential longevity is not an issue, and in how many instances it might be more accurately described as a clash between interests rather than masked as newcomer vs. old-timer conflict.
Similarly, the extent of poverty was often viewed as epidemic and overstated. A number of aggregations are described by some workshop experts as having poverty and welfare dependency two and three times the amount reported by the data. Some poverty is more visible than other poverty, but it is clear that there is a tendency among a number of local experts to overstate its presence.
Local volunteer fire departments and schools are the institutions around which almost every community meets. How well residents respond to the needs of these institutions speaks volumes about community capacity and well-being. In areas that support little else, there is support for a volunteer fire department and emergency services. In light of increasing numbers of retirees moving to rural areas, and the transformation of "place-based" communities to bedroom communities, residents will be challenged to sustain volunteer-driven efforts.
There are a number of aggregations in which older and lower value housing is accompanied by a lower percentage of owner-occupied housing. Whether owners live out of the area is not clear, but pride associated with homeowner responsibility is reinforced by the relationship between lower value housing and lack of owner-occupied homes.
A high level of home ownership, however, does not guarantee residents will interact with one another and create "community." "Bedroom community" aggregations such as Colonial Valley and Wimer/Evans Creek in the Rogue subregion both have high rates of home ownership, but residents do not necessarily collaborate on community issues. These communities are, for the most part, wealthy enough to buy services rather than having to rely on community volunteerism.
Counterpoised to the idea of wealthy retirement communities, retirees are moving into numerous aggregations with lower housing values and somewhat depressed economies. McCloud and Dunsmuir in the Siskiyou Corridor, Johnson Park in the Modoc Plateau subregion, and Deerlick Springs in Trinity, are just a few examples of this relationship. Some retirees move to these areas because they desire an attractive rural setting and also because they need to extend their retirement dollars. But retirees often request services that may be at odds with the needs of young families who want good schools. McCloud residents want a hospital, for example, but with fewer than 2,000 residents, they will be hard-pressed to afford it as well as other local services.
Socioeconomic status tends to decrease as aggregation isolation increases, but this relationship is variable. The relationship is strongest in the rural subregions of Trinity, Siskiyou Corridor and the North Coast.
Community capacity tends to be higher as aggregation population density and population increase. These relationships are strongest in the Northern Sacramento Valley subregion which includes aggregations that lack a community center, some with primarily recreational and second homes, and, typically, those where people are extremely independent and individualistic.
Residents of many rural aggregations were described as self sufficient and individualistic, characteristics which are a "double-edged sword" concerning overall community well-being. While self sufficiency and individualism may be particularly important for the well-being of individuals in isolated areas — such as the Alderpoint/Blocksburg/Harris aggregation in the North Coast subregion — residents with these characteristics are also less likely to work collectively to create local opportunities.
Lower socioeconomic status does not by itself mean low well-being. In a number of aggregations with low socioeconomic status — including some that have high levels of poverty — local experts reported that many residents were quite satisfied with their situations. Holland/Takilma and Honeydew/Petrolia, in the Rogue and North Coast subregions respectively, are two aggregations, among others, with medium-low or lower socioeconomic status and medium capacity or higher, and where many residents have chosen their lifestyle and enjoy where they live. The presence of highly educated residents supports the idea that, at least for some, there is often deliberate choice of both lifestyle and location.
Growth per se is not necessary to maintain or improve well-being. Economic developers and other experts who participated in the workshops discussed the need for business parks or for installing services to attract new businesses. In the Trinity workshop there was a specific discussion about the value of a new sewer system in one locale. Some felt it would create opportunities, others felt it would raise false hopes for new economic opportunity. In other workshops experts reported that some aggregations faced constrained opportunities due to insufficient land for new growth. Implicit in these ideas is that communities must grow to improve well-being. At the same time, however, it was often mentioned that for residents of many aggregations, well-being means retaining rural character and lifestyles, which includes maintaining a scale of living that ensures face-to-face interactions and knowing one’s neighbors.
A number of formerly agriculturally-oriented communities are in transition to bedroom communities, some of which are "communities" in name only. Community aggregations like Wimer/Evans Creek in the Rogue subregion and Happy Valley/Olinda/Clear Creek in the Northern Sacramento Valley, are described as agricultural communities but have few workers and even fewer households that derive incomes from agricultural work. Development is changing the character of these communities. Aggregate socioeconomic measures may rise, but they typically reflect the characteristics of individuals who move into the areas more than the communities they create.
The politics of blame surrounding the decline of the forest products industry in the region have, in some areas, been divisive and hindered job creation and local recovery. The loss of forest products industry jobs in many locales have been agonizing for local communities. Mill consolidation and modernization, and reduced supply have all contributed to job loss. Some initial successes have been achieved by counties and communities that have begun to collaborate to develop new opportunities within the industry and diversify into other economic activities.
The most successful economic diversification strategies "fit" with community needs and interests, build on local strengths, and develop family-wage jobs. Recognizing that all jobs are not equal, successful economic development involves more than increasing the total number of jobs. For example, creating recreation jobs around destination locations often produces better jobs and more opportunities than providing only support services for recreationists passing through. Perhaps more important is to recognize that diversification can be accomplished by development of value-added businesses that utilize local material and build on the skills of the local labor market. Value added processing offers the opportunity for producing year-round employment and can build incentives for more sustainable resource management.
Recycling of old mill and other industrial sites is a priority for those aggregations with limited developable land. In areas with a high percentage of federal land or with limited available private land, adaptive re-use of old and sometimes toxic industrial sites should be a priority. While there are some adaptive re-use projects underway across the region, there remain many ideally situated, unused mill and other industrial sites in the region. Use of these sites will help avoid the conversion of undeveloped land to industrial use while taking advantage of abandoned industrial sites.
This assessment is not a review of Northwest Economic Adjustment Initiative (NWEAI) or Community Economic Revitalization Team (CERT) work; however, discussion of projects in several workshops indicated that those communities that focused on increasing local capacity and building social capital led to short-term improvement in well-being. Capacity building projects, some of which involve providing support for community centers and which are designed to help people help themselves, have shown success. One of the major challenges for these communities will be sustaining and building on these projects when NWEAI support ends.
Aggregations with low capacity may be the most difficult in which to improve well-being because these are the ones with the least ability to effectively address or take advantage of local needs and opportunities. Rebuilding community capacity requires considerable effort and time. Efforts to improve well-being should be directed first to ensure that local capacity does not decline and second, to rebuild capacity so that communities can be actively engaged and successful in the process of improving their own well-being.
If ecosystem management is to succeed, integration between human and natural communities must improve. Land use allocation has long been used to balance competing uses. What is needed, however, is an integration of uses that allows those skilled people to work in resource-based jobs, build on ecosystem knowledge and skills, and at the same time protect and enhance ecosystem health, biodiversity, and long-term sustainability.

Finally, this assessment represents a beginning, rather than an end, of social assessment in the Klamath region. The information and data presented here are intended for active use. A comprehensive set of data is included with this study and adds a dynamic component that will facilitate additional investigations. This study and accompanying data provide a framework for both conducting additional assessments, and initiating detailed community-level assessments that incorporate the interests and objectives of local residents.