Res-2018-158 Wildfire Protection Plan

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3.2. 7 Local Economy Since 2000, the industry sectors with the largest numbers of jobs were government (4,224 jobs), services (3,958 jobs), retail trade (3,520 jobs), and farming (1,459 jobs) (Headwater Economics Socioeconomic Profile 2018). Kittitas County continues to have a large percent of total farm employment (6 .78%) compared nationally. Agricultural employment in most parts of the United States has been declining, largely as a result of mechanization and other efficiencies of scale, for most of the last century. However, this is not the case everywhere . In addition, not all geographies have lost or attracted farm employment at the same rate. Agricultural producers (primarily of hay) operate on approximately 13% of the unincorporated areas of Kittitas County. Private agricultural crop and pasture lands can be split into three categories, irrigated, dryland, and orchard/vineyard crops. Irrigated crop and pasture comprise 6.5% of the County, and both dryland crops and orchard and vineyard areas comprise less than 1 % of the County respectively. Kittitas County crop lands produce approximately 68% of the value of products sold in the county (USDA 2012). Rangelands account for 6.4% of county land, and county-wide livestock sales account for approximately 32% of the value of products sold (USDA 2012). There are approximately 1,000 farms in the county that vary in size ranging from relatively small, with agricultural product sales of less than $1,000, to large, with agricultural product sales of greater than $500,000. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Census of Agriculture (2012), Kittitas County produces approximately $68 million in market value from agricultural products statewide. Resource industries such as timber, have been a small percentage in comparison to agriculture 's strong presence . From 1998 to 2015, timber employment shrank from 106 to 79 jobs, a 25% decrease while non-timber employment grew from 6,801 to 11,007 jobs a 61% increase. Timber sectors such as harvesting and manufacturing have all decreased substantially; while mills grew from 6 to 34 jobs, a 466% increase from 1998 to 2015 (Headwaters Economics 2018). There are 914,469 forested acres in Kittitas County, mostly public and 2,600 small forest landowners accounting for 58,000 forest acres (UW State Forestland Database 2007). 3.3 Critical Infrastructure Critical facilities and infrastructure are those that are essential to the health and welfare of the population. These become especially important after a hazard event. Critical facilities typically include police and fire stations, schools, and emergency operations centers. Critical infrastructure can include the roads and bridges that provide ingress and egress and allow emergency vehicles access to those in need, and the utilities that provide water, electricity, and communication services to the community. Also included are "Tier II" facilities and railroads, which hold or carry significant amounts of hazardous materials with a potential to impact public health and welfare in a hazard event. Community Wildfire Protection Plan 13 September 2018