The City and Borough of Wrangell drafted a plan that aims to enhance local industry and boost economic development throughout the town and Southeast Alaska.
The plan maps out six local projects that, with the help of additional funding and collaboration with state and federal agencies, can be improved and stimulate the economy.
The Wrangell Economic Cluster Initiative Plan is a result of a process started by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) last fall that aims to revitalize all of Southeast Alaska’s economy. According to Wrangell Economic Development Planner Carol Rushmore, Wrangell is the only community in Southeast Alaska that has created a specific plan focusing solely on local projects and how they can contribute to economic development in town and throughout the region.
“We’re trying to be proactive,” Rushmore said.
Public meetings on Wrangell’s initiative plan were held late last year, and last week, the Economic Development Committee (EDC) approved it at its Feb. 22 meeting. The plan will now go before the Borough Assembly at its meeting Tuesday. If approved, the EDC asks that it be forwarded to the USDA and other agencies, Rushmore said.
Since she is unaware of any other Southeast Alaska communities having created a plan like Wrangell has, Rushmore said she isn’t sure what the USDA will do with it. However, regardless, Wrangell felt it was necessary to take a look at how specifically it could boost its local economy, she said.
The Juneau Economic Development Council (JEDC) has been chosen by the USDA to create an “Economic Development Asset Map and a Strategic Plan for Southeast Alaska,” which has come to be known as the “Southeast Alaska Cluster Initiative.”
That process brought together representatives from four “industry clusters” to discuss what those industries need to grow. The industry clusters were identified as visitor products, ocean products, timber products and energy.
Those industry discussions have focused on the entire region of Southeast Alaska, and identified numerous initiatives that can to taken to help those industries grow. However, those discussions have occurred outside Wrangell, Rushmore said, which has limited the community’s involvement.
Another concern was that the process focused too much on either Juneau specifically or the region as a whole and not specifically enough on other individual communities throughout Southeast Alaska. The hope is Wrangell’s specific plan will further discussion and help to garner funding for local projects that will aid the local economy, Rushmore said.
Local projects discussed in the plan focus on the marine and fishing industry, the trail systems throughout the Wrangell Ranger District of the Tongass National Forest and renewable energy, specifically bio fuels.
Discussions of using bio fuels in Wrangell has sparked interest in the past week, with a presentation on bio fuels Feb. 21 at the Nolan Center led by Southeast Alaska Conservation Council (SEACC) Community Organizer and Wrangell Mayor Jeremy Maxand and a phone survey conducted by SEACC days later in Wrangell and Petersburg.
According to the Wrangell Economic Cluster Initiative Plan, a biobrick manufacturing facility demonstration project would develop a biobrick product using local sawmill and municipal solid waste. Creating a biobrick market from recycled waste would save the City and Borough of Wrangell money that would otherwise be spent on shipping the waste south to a landfill, as well as save residents money on energy costs, the initiative plan states.
Another initiative discussed in the plan is finding funding to determine the level of service offered at The Marine Service Center Facility in downtown Wrangell. Long-term success of the facility is dependent on maintaining and attracting skilled workers, the plan states.
“If customers are satisfied with the level of work completed on their vessels, they will continue to return to use this facility and spread the word to others,” the plan states.
This would help strengthen the marine service industry in Wrangell and Southeast Alaska, it continues.
Improving local wild salmon production through habitat restoration is another initiative discussed in Wrangell’s plan, as is creating an ATV trail system using U.S. Forest Service (USFS) roads.
The plan also proposes developing an integrated trail system in Southeast Alaska, creating an ADA-accessible recreation area in the Wrangell Ranger District and working with the USDA and USFS to implement a plan to enhance existing and new saw mills and timber-products businesses.
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