Framing Our Community (FOC), a 501 [c] 3 nonprofit organization, was founded in 1999 by community leaders that foresaw the economic and demographic changes that faced Elk City and the surrounding area.  These leaders believed success lay within the framework of proactive rather than reactive programs and that by providing demonstration projects and economic opportunities our community would survive the hard times ahead. 

Our town, Elk City, was founded during the gold rush days of the 1860’s and has been a natural resource based economy through gold rush and timber days until the turn of the 21st century.  Since then mining has ceased, timber sales have dipped to a zero cut, the Bennett Forest Industry Elk City Mill has closed and the Forest Service has decreased to 60% of its former presence.  

Elk City lies within the boundaries of 2.2 million acres of Nez Perce National Forest and is part of Idaho County, a county larger than the state of Connecticut that is eighty three percent federally managed land. The 1990 census shows Elk City and the surrounding township with a population of 1,500, we now number 500.  Idaho County has been identified by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (REIS, May, 2001) as low income and high unemployment.  Our poverty level is sixty-four percent (64%), fifty percent (50%) more young people in Idaho County live in poverty than those in the rest of the state.  Current national economic conditions find one hundred percent (100%) of the students in Elk City’s K-8 school enrolled in the school free and reduced lunch program.  With the decline in population that accompanies job loss, other impacts occur, like a decline in the school’s student population.  Our school now has two full time teachers, combined elementary classes (K – 4 and 5 – 8) and no high school.  Our high school children must attend one of two schools 50 or 63 miles away, board out with relatives or a willing family, leave home on Monday morning and return Friday afternoon.

In the last century, our surrounding forests – which consist primarily of 90-year-old lodge pole pine, as well as other softwoods - have fallen on hard times. The lodge pole pine is dying of old age and mountain pine beetle infestation. Timber harvests on the national forest lands have been reduced while our lodge pole pine has reached its maturity.  Fire danger from dead timber has increased and the forest has become unhealthier each year. This has resulted in a severe decline in the physical and economic health of the region.  

Economic decline, catastrophic wildfires, and deteriorating forest health conditions have combined to create a climate of frustration in both public and private sectors.  Framing Our Community (FOC) is convinced that there is a critical need for more creative and collaborative approaches to the challenge of fire protection, forest restoration and economic development. We believe that there is a ‘way’ to integrate the ecological needs of our surrounding forests and rivers with the economic needs of the people who live here plus accommodate the needs of the broader communities that enjoy its recreational benefits.  FOC believes that an “integrated program” is necessary for a “Healthy Forest and Healthy Community.”  An integrated program that recognizes and addresses the need for both conservation and restoration of the forests; while maximizing the value of all of the materials removed for economic development and sustainability.  Developing a ‘model’ that believes collaboration is essential and far more effective than an adversarial climate. This method focuses on the development and usage of better management practices and technologies, and strengthens the capacity of the community.  

Being good stewards of the forest strengthens ties to the land, improves the natural resources ourcommunity depends on, utilizes life skills and experiences, and promotes best use – best value of those resources that ultimately provide the food, clothing, shelter and social fiber of our rural communities.  In life everything is interconnected and prosperity depends on the health of each component; from the natural resources that supply our raw materials, to maximizing their value in the manufacture of products, to the identification and building of markets, and ultimately to the strengthening and giving back to the community at large.

Framing Our Community’s Board Members come from widely diverse backgrounds and possess the strength, education and experience to address the economic and social problems we face.  Board Members range in education and experience from Masters degrees in engineering and education, degrees in accounting and certifications in electric power, to wilderness rangers and veterans.  They believe we must be proactive and set a new course to break the cycle of rural poverty.  They also recognized that in hard times lay many opportunities and early efforts have produced projects that range from construction of an outdoor learning center, Senate and House of Representatives testimony, feasibility studies and business plans for a Small Business Incubator and a Biomass Cogeneration Power Facility, and Rural Community Development Forums.  This period has seen the formation of the “Jobs in the Woods” and “Artists in the Woods” programs and Phase I construction of the Elk City Small Business Incubator.  To establish a solid economic base we must change to an economy based on restoration and the development of multiple small businesses that can capture the wider margin of profits from wholesale and retail-based products for urban and internet markets.

To accomplish this goal, FOC designed an integrated program that begins with restoring and improving the health of the forests and watersheds that surround our natural resource dependant community. We then utilize the small diameter, dead and dying trees in the manufacture of identified products for sale to niche markets.    This effort required building human, social and cultural, physical and financial capital, and working collaboratively with federal agencies, governmental and tribal entities, and regional, national and local organizations.  

Public meetings helped to build the community’s vision.  In the year 2000, community members determined that they wanted to retain their ties to the natural resources that surrounded them by developing small to midsized businesses, improving community infrastructure, offering educational opportunities and connecting entrepreneurs to funding opportunities.  This set the direction for Framing Our Community and the formation of its “Jobs in the Woods” and Small Business Incubator programs. “Jobs in the Woods” provides work in forest restoration, wildlife habitat improvement and hazardous fuels reduction; while economic development occurs through the Small Business Incubator.

FOC believes that formulating an integrated program which uses every stick removed from the forest will make the forest healthier and the community safer and more vibrant.  Examples of steps taken by FOC to build capacity and a sustainable future can be found under Community Capacity, Integrated Program and Next Steps.