Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy, White Mountain Apache Tribe

Client: White Mountain Apache Tribe

Location: Whiteriver, AZ

Summary: Cardno ENTRIX worked with the White Mountain Apache Tribe to develop a Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS). The CEDS incorporated the feasibility studies and other economic analyses performed by Cardno ENTRIX in support of the tribe?s water rights. These analyses included recreation development, housing construction, agricultural enterprises (crop cultivation and grazing), timber production, and participation in environmental markets through carbon offsets.

The recreation developments proposed and analyzed by Cardno ENTRIX included expansion of existing and construction of additional reservoirs, enhanced camping opportunities, additional retail and service outlets, and higher user fees. The Cardno ENTRIX team estimated the financial and total economic benefits from associated future tourism and recreation visitation to the Fort Apache Indian Reservation. In order to measure the benefits of the project, Cardno ENTRIX estimated future visitation and tourist expenditures with and without the proposed recreation enterprises. Financial benefits were measured in terms of increased profits to local and tribal businesses. Income and employment benefits to tribal members were also identified. Economic benefits to visitors (i.e. non-market values) from within Arizona, and from other states were also estimated.

For the agricultural production enterprises, Cardno ENTRIX was responsible for coordination among agronomists, horticulturalists, and silviculturalists while analyzing the feasibility of a wide variety of proposed crops and value added activities. Cardno ENTRIX developed farm level budgets of the proposed crops, analyzed the respective markets, and developed net revenues from value added activities. These value added activities included an Individual Quick Freeze (IQF) plant, packing shed for fruit, sawmill, and beef feedlot. The net benefits from the proposed irrigation project were compared against the costs of the irrigation project.

The Project also included analysis of the financial and market feasibility of enhancing existing timber operations on the Reservation through planting of a poplar plantation. The poplar plantation will provide financial benefits to the Tribe directly through increased revenue from poplar sales, but also indirectly through three other mechanisms: 1) increased return on investment to existing sawmill facility through increased utilization and efficiency, 2) increased long-term annual revenues from existing forests due to increased thinning operations (previously not financially feasible), and 3) marketing of sequestration carbon credits in the Chicago Climate Exchange.