Slump Mutes Call of the Wild

The promise of new jobs amid a recession is weakening the resolve of some rural residents to keep wildlands from development. That dynamic is evident around this historic mining town of about 1,650, which had long opposed a ski-resort expansion from nearby Mt. Crested Butte to the neighboring national-forest lands of Snodgrass Mountain. The proposal, which has come up several times in the past 30 years, had been repeatedly shot down by locals concerned skiing would ruin the popular hiking and biking area. But with the downturn, the Snodgrass expansion has been resurrected -- and this time it's drawing wide support. That's because the development would likely fuel a job surge in an area reeling from a slide in real estate and tourism. Housing prices are off as much as 20% from their 2006 peak, local officials say, while sales-tax receipts have slipped as much as 15% from 2008. Meanwhile, unemployment in surrounding Gunnison County rose to 5.9% in June from 3.8% a year ago. "The down economy definitely helps get people to support the expansion, because they understand the need to stimulate our ski product to get more people to come here," says Joseph Fitzpatrick Jr., town manager of Mt. Crested Butte, at the base of the resort...WSJ