Soaring with Broadband: Impacts of Broadband on Eagle County’s Drivers and Assets

An Economic Analysis for Dr. Stephan Weiler’s ECON 492

By:

Marisa Carreon, Tyler Goutermout, Thanh Thao, and Colt Van Eaton

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Table of Contents

1. Executive Summary……………………………………………………………………3

2. Introduction…………………………………………………………………………….4

3. Drivers………………………………………………………………………………….5

3.1 Current Drivers……………………………………………………………………..5

3.2 Future Drivers……………………..………………………………………………..7

4. Assets………………………………………………………………………………….10

4.1 Current Assets…………………………………………………………………….10

4.2 Future Assets……………………………………………………………………...13

5. Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………….16

6. Works Cited…………………………………………………………………………...19

7. Appendix of Figures..………….………………………….………………………….22

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1. Executive Summary

Eagle County was hit by the recent recession but has been slowly recovering. Broadband

provides the means by which Eagle’s economy can support its growth by stimulating drivers,

both old and new, through augmentation of assets which endow Eagle County with a

comparative advantage; the proposed growth is not merely expansion of the current industry, but

a multi-dimensional expansion of jobs across the county’s areas and into the skiing off-seasons.

Current drivers include tourism and construction. In particular, the tourist industries are

accommodation, food and drink establishments, and arts, entertainment, and recreation. The

natural assets promoting the current drivers take the form of the ski slopes, rivers, forests, and

trails. Additionally, there is an abundant tourism infrastructure consisting of hotels and

restaurants, the ski resorts’ international reputation, and the current broadband which connects

Eagle County to the rest of the world. Construction benefits from a large base of second

homeowners who are attracted to the aforementioned assets.

The proposed future drivers are those which currently benefit the county (i.e. tourism and

construction) with healthcare and an increase of proprietors in scientific and technical

professions. The future assets will be the combination of broadband with a skill surplus in Eagle-

Gypsum, private fishing holes around the county, the future youth of the county and the

favorable housing prices and weather in Eagle-Gypsum. Overall, expanding broadband

availability will have two impacts through the assets and drivers. First, it will improve business

opportunities in Eagle-Gypsum. Second, it will provide job opportunities and enhance the

county’s appeal outside of the ski-season. As such, broadband will arm Eagle County to face

economic challenges of the future.

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2. Introduction

The recession of 2007-2009 had a great impact on Colorado and Eagle County, causing

great falls in the level of employment (Fig. 1.1). Calculated from Quarterly Census of

Employment and Wages (QCEW) data, employment for Colorado as a whole dropped from its

peak in Q3 2008 to a lower peak in Q3 2009 by 5.8%; from Eagle County’s peak in Q1 2008,

employment dropped precipitously to its lowest peak in Q1 2010 by 12.0% (QCEW).

Since the recession, recovery has been a little slower for Eagle County relative to Colorado.

From the peak in Q1 2010 to the peak in Q1 2014, Eagle’s employment has increased overall by

7.1%, and Colorado’s peak to peak increases from Q4 2009 to Q4 2013 have been by 8.7%

overall (QCEW). Nevertheless, the economy is still picking up in Eagle County.

There are obvious differences between the cycles of employment in Colorado and in

Eagle, the most pronounced being the intensity of employment swings. On the one side is

Colorado as a whole, which between Q1 and Q4 of 2013 experienced a 3.9% swing from trough

to peak; Eagle County’s swing from trough to peak from Q2 of 2013 to Q1 of 2014 was a much

higher 19.0% (QCEW). A relatively smaller population more dramatically experiences the

coming and going of the tourist season, so the cycles of spikes and slumps in economic activity

are a predominant force in how business is run in Eagle County. This temporal aspect is the first

major challenge that can be ameliorated with broadband.

As opposed to the temporal aspect of business, there are the structure and geographical

distribution of jobs. For one, Eagle County has an economic multiplier of 1.5 calculated from the

ratio of total to direct basic (those providing income from exported goods and services) jobs

from the Colorado State Demographer Office’s (CSDO) Base Analysis for Eagle County (a

fairly standard value when compared to tourist counties like Summit and Pitkin), making the

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county ripe for expansion of base industries, which will be enumerated in the section “Drivers.”

With respect to the job density, business is booming in Vail-Avon, but the Eagle-Gypsum area is

a little quieter (Figs. 1.2 and 1.3). This spatial aspect of business is the second major

characteristic to be tackled with broadband.

Thus the two major considerations of Eagle’s economy in this analysis are the

dimensions of time and space. The question, then, is how improving broadband in Eagle County

can affect the density of jobs both geographically and temporally by unlocking the comparative

advantages in Eagle County’s assets to aid old and new local drivers. Figure 1.3 shows that while

Eagle County already largely benefits from broadband installation at locations like Vail, Avon

and Basalt (where speeds range between 100 Mbps and 1 Gps), other towns like Eagle and

Gypsum are covered to a lesser extent (between 10 and 50 Mbps) (Colorado Governor’s Office

of Information Technology). In particular, faster connection for areas like Eagle and Gypsum is

encouraged to increase their competitiveness. Even with reasonably up-to-date connections, Jed

Kolko, who studied the impact of broadband on local economies, warns that this is not the end of

the need for broadband improvement, as speed requirements for conducting business will

continue to increase (31). The digital divide is not a challenge to be bridged once; it is a

continuously intensified challenge better met with early recognition and action. Just as

improving broadband now is relevant to the problem of making all of Eagle County appealing,

particularly throughout the off-seasons, keeping these gains into the future will require

continuous efforts to keep systems up-to-date.

3. Drivers

3.1 Current Drivers: Broadband already has an impact on the main industries that bring

dollars into the community (the drivers). The primary current driver of Eagle County is tourism,

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which comprises 45% of all jobs (CSDO). This is fairly standard compared to other tourism

counties such as Grand (42%), Pitkin (50%), and Summit (50%), which rely on winter industries

too, as opposed to an area such as Denver-Boulder Metro (4%) (CSDO). Eagle County has the

sixth highest percentage of jobs dedicated to tourism out of all Colorado counties, and it is only

second to Denver-Boulder Metro in the whole state for the number of tourism jobs; in short,

Eagle County is a tourist dynamo (CSDO). The main industries participating can be identified by

calculating their location quotients, which for this analysis is the ratio of the percentage of Eagle

County’s jobs dedicated to a particular industry to the percentage of Colorado’s jobs dedicated to

that industry (a rule of thumb is that LQs equal to or over 1.5 indicate a driving industry). The

tourism industry breaks down into such sectors as arts, entertainment, and recreation (combined,

an LQ of 4.3), accommodation (LQ of 6.2), food services and drinking places (LQ of 1.6), and

real estate (LQ of 2.4). Also, Eagle County has an active construction industry (LQ of 1.7) and

many special trade contractors (LQ of 1.7) (CSDO).

Proprietors represent a large portion of this activity; as recently as 2012, about 18.4% of

total jobs were represented by proprietors (CSDO). Looking at location quotients for proprietors

(LQP), it does not take long to discover which industries they are driving. For one, proprietors

are engaged in construction (LQP of 1.5) and special trade (LQP of 1.1), representing 28% of all

the jobs in those sectors (CSDO). In real estate (LQP of 1.9), they represent 51% of all jobs

(CSDO). It is important to not underestimate the impact of individual involvement in Eagle

County’s industries; in an article from Vail Daily, it was revealed that condominium and hotel

managers are upset because individual renters, responsible for as much as 10% of Vail’s online

bookings, are not regulated like the official renting businesses (Miller). The other side to

consider, though, is that more such individual activity, aided through online services, can bring

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more visitors into Eagle County’s present tourism infrastructure.

Broadband already provides an important link from the industries and proprietors to those

outside of Eagle County. A potential visitor can gather information about tourist services on the

internet. Individual proprietors and construction firms can continue to make use of broadband to

host their businesses online. Even though the existing broadband has already proven to be a boon

for Eagle County, there is potential for broadband to boost new drivers to diversify Eagle

County’s job opportunities, penetrating into the off-seasons and less-visited areas of the county.

3.2 Future Drivers: With continuing broadband support in eastern Eagle and additional

support for the Gypsum-Eagle area, the current drivers will remain important sources of jobs in

the community, while newer drivers can emerge to fill out the off-seasonal activity. There are a

wealth of additional industries that broadband can support, such as non-winter recreational

hunting and fishing. This is not mere speculation, as hunting and fishing already have a

formidable economic impact in Eagle County. According to BBC Research and Consulting, in

2007 the combined expenditures spent on hunting and fishing, including the multiplier effect,

was $67,640,000, responsible for 908 jobs (18). While the fraction of jobs that are driving the

community is less, as a large proportion of fishing and hunting is enjoyed by citizens of Eagle

County (only 19.2% of the economic impact was attributable to non-residents) (18), it is,

nevertheless, clear that the assets of Eagle County already attract business from outside the

county. The fishing and hunting industry during the “shoulder season” of autumn work well as a

driver with the established tourism infrastructure, as non-residents spend a little over a third of

their expenditures on food and lodging (12). Broadband’s importance is not immediately evident,

but it will be in considering the fishing industry’s current lack of information flow.

In the Eagle River Watershed Plan, it is mentioned that access points for fishing are

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limited because many streams and rivers run through private properties, causing the used fishing

spots to become crowded, especially in lower reaches of the watershed (3). Taking a page from

the temporary proprietors who rent their properties using websites, a website for private fishing

spots could be an efficient means of increasing the number of access points. Many of the

residences near some parts of the Eagle River do not have as much access to broadband, and

connecting these areas to broadband has the potential to expand the fishing industry to residents

and non-residents. A greater supply of areas would shift out the supply curve for the fishing

industry, creating higher fishing activity and lowering consumer costs related to scarcity of

fishing access. The same can apply for hunting, and a combined site related to hunting and

fishing could handle all of the information. This in turn can help bolster the tourism industry

throughout the year.

There are other ways broadband availability offers an opportunity to keep the tourism

industries occupied through the year. Business conferences are a way to use hotel space and get

visitors to restaurants, particularly during the other “shoulder season” of spring; businessmen can

be flown in directly to the airport, which will be attractive when supported with state-of-the-art

broadband (which currently has the same support as Eagle and Gypsum). Naturally, the areas

like Vail and Avon have nice lodges and hotels, but better broadband will make the Eagle-

Gypsum area a legitimate contender for business conferences, as it is already close to the airport

and natural recreation. Not only is it cheaper than Vail, but it is also less muddy during the spring

time—a more favorable climate. The airport itself could host a conference center; the key is that

the best broadband will keep businessmen the best connected for their activities. In the

immediate future, the airport would be best suited for visitors within the United States, although

there is a chance of international flights in the future, meaning conferences from all around the

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world could be hosted.

The expansion of tourism, whether for skiing or for business, has impacts for supporting

industries. With additional tourism and business travelers, it is expected that the transportation

services, the air services in particular, will gain more jobs. It has already been established in an

economic report that demand for flights in Eagle County, instead of being tied to national

demand for flights, is directly connected to tourism opportunities (Jviation, Inc. 2). In email

correspondence with Chris Romer, the President/CEO of the Vail Valley Partnership, Mr. Romer

confirmed that the development of the airport was important in “supporting both our tourism

economy and our continued growth for second home ownership and entrepreneurism” since the

demand for flights to Eagle County is correlated to the tourism and bringing people into the

valley. Mr. Romer states that international flights are too financially strenuous to consider at the

moment. Naturally, the new tourist forces mentioned before will make international flights more

likely.

Improved broadband can also benefit the healthcare sector, which has been steadily

growing in employment and establishments, even throughout the recession (QCEW). It is a

curious fact that the location quotients for healthcare have not progressed as much, indicating

that health care growth in Eagle County has only been keeping pace with Colorado as a whole. A

promising component is ambulatory health care services, which only had an LQ of .68 in 2012.

Jed Kolko studied the impact of broadband on different sectors of industry and found that an

increase in broadband availability has a positive impact on healthcare employment (23), not to

mention that it will save costs through electronic record keeping and remote monitoring (30).

The already well-established medical organizations in Eagle County will continue to run

efficiently from state-of-the-art broadband, and keeping the industry supported will foster its

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growth and keep health care at the highest level of quality.

There is potential in enabling educated proprietors to take on the underrepresented

professional and technical services sector (LQ of .66). Proprietors are particularly of interest

because the proportion of proprietors engaged in these sectors actually have higher location

quotients than the total-jobs location quotient (LQP of .93). It is clear that citizens of Eagle

County are willing to take initiative in this sector. Of particular interest is that employment in the

professional and technical services spike in Q3 and Q4 (Fig. 3.21), meaning the activity in this

sector can help soften the dramatic swings in Eagle’s employment. Kolko lists the professional

and technical services as being highly impacted by broadband expansion; these services are

technology-intensive and generally involve computers (23). Expansion of broadband into the

Eagle/Gypsum area can help location-neutral jobs and employees and proprietors in those areas

run businesses closer to home. Thus, it is clear that the goals of increasing economic activity

throughout the year and the county are intertwined.

Finally, an analysis of the future of Eagle County’s industry would be incomplete without

some mention of construction of buildings (current LQ of 1.7) and real estate (current LQ of

2.5). According to Kolko, people tend to move to areas where employment opportunities arise, as

induced by broadband. This sort of activity would occur in the Eagle-Gypsum area with the

expansion of broadband availability. This will increase business for real estate, as quality

broadband availability will be a draw in addition to the job opportunities. This can also lead to

new residential building in the area, maintaining local construction jobs.

4. Assets

4.1 Current Assets: Understanding how broadband helps the local drivers requires a

consideration of assets, the situations unique to Eagle County that give it a comparative

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advantage in its industries. For each of the drivers in Eagle County, there is some asset making

Eagle naturally better at that industry. Broadband in itself is an asset, but its strength lies in

combination with other assets. Extending Eagle County’s jobs throughout the year and to new

areas like Eagle and Gypsum will involve using pre-existing assets in new combinations. As

such, an assessment of current assets will serve as a stepping stone to analyzing the future.

Eagle County’s tourism is fueled by a network of diverse assets. Some basics are the ski

slopes which draw the visitors and the forests and rivers which attract the hunters and fishermen.

According to the Eagle County website, Vail alone has the largest ski mountain in North

America, with 5,000 acres to ski on; 350,000 acres of national forest surround Vail as well, a

hefty figure for nature-lovers (“Community”). Nonetheless, it is the infrastructure that extracts

the tourist value from these natural assets, the establishments which house the food and lodging

services. On the Vail Resorts Management Company’s website, 103 restaurants are listed along

with 157 lodging options (Vail). This extensive infrastructure works in concerted effort with the

natural surroundings to make Eagle competitive in tourism. Obviously, the assets related to

skiing are only useful during certain parts of the year; Eagle County cannot have a comparative

advantage in skiing during the summer, the direct source of the fluctuations in year-round

activity.

An asset related to hunting and fishing takes the form of the Fryingpan River in the

southern part of the county, which testifies to the remarkable recreational opportunities in Eagle

County not related to skiing. According to the “Fryingpan Valley Economic Study,” a little over

30% of visitors to the Fryingpan River are from out-of-state, presumably to participate in

activities such as boating, camping, and fishing (Crandall 6). A survey taken by the study

determined that anglers like the flow rate of the river; if the flow rate was anywhere from one-

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half to twice as fast, at least 60% of anglers surveyed would not return to fish the Fryingpan

River (25). It is not just that the Fryingpan River has fish, but it is a physically superior river.

The study also shows how expenditures made in visiting the Fryingpan River support the tourism

industries through food and lodging (27).

Beyond the natural features and the infrastructure, one of Eagle’s most valuable assets is

its reputation. Visitors come to Eagle and pay a lot of money to enjoy an industry known for its

quality. In an economy, information makes a large difference: if a vacationer does not know that

Vail exists, he will not go. If a potential customer sees the prices for staying at Vail and doubts

the quality of the experience, there is less of a chance he will ski at Vail. The reputation of Eagle

County’s opportunities in general is the necessary link between the actual state of service and

consumers willing to pay for that service. Broadband and the internet play a key role in this

transfer of knowledge, as upon hearing about the skiing or the hunting, an interested party need

only to seek out more information online.

Another important asset in Eagle’s tourism industry is the Eagle County Regional

Airport, which is heavily intertwined with how effectively the other assets are drawing tourists.

International O&D traffic exhibits the expected surge in Q1 due to the ski season with a slight

start in Q4. The Campbell-Hill Aviation Group calculates that for the year ending in Q3 2013,

over 70% of international O&D passengers traveled in Q1 2013 and nearly 20% in Q4 2012,

with the remaining 10% occurring outside of the ski season (7). The airport currently generates

$23.4 million in annual revenue (31), marking a sizeable economic presence through handling

tourist transportation.

On the construction side, there is the desirability of owning second homes in Eagle

County. A report, “The Social and Economic Effects of Second Homes,” describes in detail the

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size and nature of this phenomenon. Around the years 2000-2001, 49% of housing units were

owned by non-locals (Venturoni 4). Compared to other tourism counties, this is rather low.

Counties such as Grand, Pitkin, and Summit, other tourism counties, range from 55% to 67% of

non-local ownership. It is expected by the report that the baby boomers will drive second-home

growth (35). Second homeowners tied their desire to own property to several main factors, which

are fairly constant across Eagle, Grand, Pitkin, and Summit: 84% of second homeowners in

Eagle County (83% across all four counties) bought land for proximity to recreational amenities,

82% (73%) for being close to the ski slopes in particular, 67% (72%) for the scenery, and 70%

(66%) for returning to vacation annually (58). Second homeowners are drawn to Eagle County

by the same assets that draw tourists, which in turn creates activity for construction and the

tourist industries.

However, a step should be taken back from specific assets to admire the entrepreneurship

of Eagle County. 15.4% of all jobs in Colorado are due to proprietors, but in Eagle County,

18.4% of jobs in 2012 were helmed by proprietors (CSDO). Although important assets in Eagle

County involve recreational activities, the tendency of a group of proprietors to seize

opportunities in other sectors is critical to the county’s health. Not only does Eagle County have

a rate of entrepreneurial growth (>15.3%) higher than the nationwide rate (4.5%), it also boasts a

significant quantity of entrepreneurs (~24% of total employment is proprietors) (Weiler). Eagle

County’s position as a micropolitan county also adds to its entrepreneurial assets because it is

one of the areas where high-value entrepreneurs congregate (Weiler). Between these

entrepreneurs and recreational amenities, Eagle County is in a desirable position; yet, there are

broadband opportunities for current proprietors in areas like Eagle and Gypsum that can

strengthen the economy further and make it more competitive through the off seasons.

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4.2 Future Assets: In addition to the current assets, there are situations in Eagle County

that can be exploited with broadband. In many ways, the future is already foreshadowed by the

internet promoting the reputation of Eagle’s tourism and the internet as a tool for proprietors. It

was discussed in future drivers how broadband connections can be used to expand fishing access,

an industry bringing in tourists throughout the summer. In particular, the most important

broadband development would be in the Eagle and Gypsum areas, which possess numerous

advantages similar to the ones profiting the eastern cities like Avon and Vail; nonetheless, since

the broadband lags in quality, the assets lie dormant. By improving the broadband in Eagle and

Gypsum, there is reason to believe the assets will be more supportive of jobs in that area and will

expand economic activity throughout the year.

A unique advantage is that weather is relatively more favorable throughout the year in the

western area of Eagle County. The difference can be observed between the average number of

snowy days in Vail and Gypsum and the difference of average snowfall between Vail and Eagle

(Fig. 4.21.). Towns like Gypsum and Eagle have the distinct advantage of being close to

recreational amenities (including mountain biking and hiking) with less bad weather and shorter

mud seasons than the eastern end of the county, which can be more attractive for business

conferences and potential residents. There is another useful differential waiting to be leveraged

between western and eastern Eagle County, which is the difference in housing prices. Looking at

the charts from City-Data (Fig. 4.22), it is readily apparent that housing prices are volatile;

nevertheless, median housing sale prices in Eagle and Gypsum are significantly lower than in

Vail. In Q3 2014, median prices in Eagle and Gypsum converged to $350,000, while prices in

Vail hovered at about $500,000 higher. Instituting broadband in the Eagle-Gypsum area can

make the business opportunities and amenities more equal between western and eastern Eagle

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County and make acting on housing price and weather differentials an easier decision for

prospective residents and buyers of second homes. In the case of businessmen looking for

convention locations, the ability to remain connected is desirable, and the better weather will

make them more likely to visit. Broadband in combination with the existing assets strengthens

economic opportunity.

The future also concerns the strength of the workforce to run the industries; thus, the

increasing aging population is a factor to take into consideration when thinking about the future.

Throughout the state of Colorado, the population demographics are shifting toward the retirees.

For example, Figures 4.23-25 show that the largest population group in both Eagle County and

Colorado is the workforce-age group (those aged 20-64), but this group is decreasing in size,

while the retiree-age group (those aged 65-90) is growing.

Since more of the residents of Eagle County are aging, and since retiree income improves

the economy, it is important to keep their desires and needs in mind. One factor that retirees and

the elderly consider when deciding to settle down settling down is maintaining a connection with

their families. Should a retired couple want to remain in Eagle County but also maintain contact

with their loved ones who live elsewhere, today the technology is largely available for

telecommuting, dependent on broadband connections. In this way, keeping broadband up-to-date

throughout the county provides incentive for retirees to make their homes in Eagle County.

Returning to the fact that the western end of Eagle County has a climate more favorable to those

who want to live in an area with less snow and warmer temperatures than the ski resort areas, it

follows that improving the broadband levels in the Eagle-Gypsum area to match that of the Vail-

Avon area adds to property value.

Not only is this beneficial for retirees, but it is also beneficial for the workforce-age

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group. The other side of the shifting population demographics shows that Eagle County is losing

the share of population comprised of the workforce age group more rapidly than the state is (Fig.

4.25). This could indicate that Eagle County has not been able to meet some of the demands of

this group, those which must be met in order for them to live and work in Eagle County, like

maintaining strong broadband. For Eagle County, this share of the population is an asset to

running businesses, and keeping it strong is necessary to a healthy economic future. As with the

older generations, younger generations, especially those beginning their careers, can be

encouraged to take up residence or remain in Eagle County with improved broadband. This can

affect the 20-40-year-old population even more so than the retired population in two ways:

firstly, younger populations generally value a reliable internet connection more than older

populations; secondly, this age group can utilize the broadband to start their own companies if

they want to employ themselves and have a location-neutral job.

The other side of the problem of future employment is fully using the skilled workforce.

Eagle County currently has a very high skill surplus, which the Center for the Study of Rural

America calculates as the difference between the share of the workforce with skills and

education and the demand for those workers as a percentage of the workforce. Eagle has a skill

surplus of 19.6%, comparable with other tourism counties like Grand (12.2%), Pitkin (27.9%),

and Summit (23.0%). Although Eagle County has entrepreneurial depth (quality) because of its

position as a micropolitan county, as mentioned earlier, it lacks in entrepreneurial breadth,

common in rural counties (Weiler). Improved broadband across Eagle County, particularly in its

rural areas and in Eagle and Gypsum, would help increase the breadth (quantity) of entrepreneurs

by creating more entrepreneurial and proprietor opportunities. Increasing breadth would decrease

the skill surplus, utilizing the high-value skills possessed by entrepreneurs, which spreads

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economic activity throughout the off-seasons through technical and scientific professions. By

introducing more young workers to Eagle County to revive the area and making skilled laborers

productive, broadband will help Eagle County survive and progress into the future.

5. Conclusion

When the recession hit, employment dropped in the economy as a whole and has been

slowly but steadily increasing since then. Even though the future looks bright, there is an

opportunity with broadband to diversify and strengthen the economy. Through expansion of

more broadband availability to areas like Eagle and Gypsum, Eagle County can launch more

industries in those areas and promote more economic activity outside of the ski season.

Currently, the internet provides necessary exposure for the seasonal activities available,

and it is in the best interests of the restaurants, lodgers, and the county to realize the year-round

and county-wide gains in business through further expansion of 100 Mbs-1 Gbs broadband.

Eagle County already is reaping many benefits from being ‘just a click away.’ Proprietors,

reputation, an airport, scenery, ski slopes, waterways, and infrastructure are all assets which

contribute to Eagle’s current success, the sources of comparative advantage which make tourism,

construction, and proprietorship profitable--and broadband plays a part.

The future, including broadband coverage of the Eagle-Gypsum area, is a more

encouraging prospect. Broadband connected with lower house prices in Eagle-Gypsum and

favorable weather will be like raising a tariff; the area will be more competitive as a viable place

to live for residents, second homeowners, and retirees. It will create business opportunities and

jobs through providing proprietors the tools they need and giving businessmen more of a reason

to visit. It will enable more year-round stability through industries like technical services, off-

season tourism through fishing and hunting, and greater use of the airport. Broadband has the

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potential to take streams and rivers that are typically inaccessible and free them up through the

channel of a web-based market for coveted fishing holes. More than that, there are the positive

externalities of broadband not examined in this analysis. Western Eagle County has schools,

government services, municipal emergency services, and hospitals (mentioned earlier with

regards to growth), and the quality of connection those institutions have to the internet will reap

a positive social return.

Broadband is an eye to the future. There is a demographic crunch on the horizon, and the

effects of broadband can smooth the transition. In the short run, the above suggestions will have

a positive impact, but the question of broadband involves the long run. The digital divide is not a

one-time phenomenon; it is a constant threat to be regarded with vigilance. As connection

requirements rise, it will be necessary to upgrade broadband even in areas such as Vail and

Avon. A lack of up-to-date broadband is effectively like a tariff against the county, which Eagle

County hardly needs while in competition from neighboring counties like Pitkin, Grand, and

Summit. If those counties develop their broadband and leave Eagle County behind, there is only

so much the reputation of Vail can do before its share is steadily lost to competition. Eagle

County has proven it can fly, but broadband brings lift under the wings that will help the

economy soar and defend it against the challenges of this century. The future of Eagle is a county

united in business opportunities and diverse in industry, a county for all seasons.

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Works Cited

BBC Research and Consulting. The Economic Impacts of Hunting, Fishing, and Wildlife

Watching in Colorado. BBC Research and Consulting, 26 Sept. 2008. PDF file.

Campbell-Hill Aviation Group, LLC. Final Eagle County Regional Airport (EGE)

International Air Service Analysis and Business Case. Campbell-Hill Aviation Group, LLC., 16

July 2014. PDF file.

Center for the Study of Rural America. Underemployment Indicator. Federal Reserve Bank of

Kansas City, 2004. Microsoft Excel file.

Eagle River Watershed Council and Eagle County. “Chapter 6: River Recreation.” Eagle River

Watershed Plan. Eagle River Watershed Council, 5 Feb. 2013. PDF file.

City-Data. Advameg, Inc., 2014. Web. 1 Nov. 2014.

Colorado State Demography Office. Base Analysis 2012. State of Colorado, n.d. Microsoft Excel

file.

“Communities.” Eagle County. Eagle County, n.d. Web. 1 Nov. 2014.

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Crandall, Kristine. Fryingpan Valley Economic Study. Roaring Fork Conservancy, 21 June 2002.

PDF file.

Colorado Governor’s Office of Information Technology. Colorado Broadband Mapping

Application. State of Colorado, Oct. 2014. Web. 1 Nov. 2014.

Jviation, Inc. “3.0 Aviation Activity Forecasts.” Airport Master Plan. Jviation, Inc., 11 Feb.

2014. PDF file.

Kolko, Jed. Does Broadband Boost Local Economic Development? Public Policy Institute of

California, Jan. 2010. PDF file.

Miller, Scott N. “Should Vail Regulate Online Lodging Rentals?” Vail Daily. Swift

Communications, Inc., 8 Aug. 2014. Web. 1 Nov. 2014.

"Population by Age and Gender." Department of Local Affairs. State of Colorado, n.d. Web. 19

Oct. 2014.

Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages. Geographic Solutions, Inc., 2014. Web. 1 Nov.

2014.

Romer, Chris. “Airport Expansion.” Message to Tyler Goutermout. 14 Oct. 2014. E-mail.

United States Census Bureau. OnTheMap. United States Department of Commerce, 2013. Web.

1 Nov. 2014.

Unsuppressed Demographer Jobs by Industry. State of Colorado, n.d. Microsoft Excel file.

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Vail. Vail Resorts Management Company, 2014. Web. 1 Nov. 2014.

Venturoni, Linda. The Social and Economic Effects of Second Homes. Northwest Colorado

Council of Governments, June 2004. PDF file.

Weatherbase. CantyMedia, 2014. Web. 1 Nov. 2014.

Weiler, Stephan. Colorado's Entrepreneurial Economy. N.p., n.d. Microsoft PowerPoint file.

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Appendix of Figures

Fig 1.1: Plots of employment for Colorado and Eagle County (Source: QCEW).

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Figs._1.2 and 1.3: Job density in Gypsum, Eagle, Avon, and Vail (Source: United States Census

Bureau).

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Fig. 1.4: Broadband coverage in Eagle County (Source: CGOIT).

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Fig. 3.21: Employment in Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (Source: QCEW).

Fig. 4.21: On top is average snowfall for Vail and Eagle. On bottom is average days of snow in

Vail and Gypsum (Source: Weatherbase).

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Fig. 4.22: Top left and right are median home sales prices for Vail and Gypsum. Bottom is

median home sales price for Eagle (Source: City-Data).

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Fig. 4.23: Percentage of total population for Eagle County and Colorado by age group.

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Fig._4.24: Percentage change of population groups in Eagle County and Colorado.

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Fig. 4.25: Percentage change of population groups as share of total population in Eagle County

and Colorado.