BEAR RIVER ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY (CEDS) 2013‐2018 Northern Utah’s Box Elder, Cache & Rich Counties September 2013 Contents Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 1 CEDS Organization & Management ............................................................................................................................................................................... 2 Regional Economic Profile ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 5 County Profiles ............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 5 Box Elder County ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 5 Cache County ............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 6 Rich County ................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 6 Economy......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 7 Employment & Wages ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 7 Population ................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 15 Workforce Development and Use ............................................................................................................................................................................... 17 Occupations with the Most Openings ................................................................................................................................................................. 17 Utah State University ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 17 Transportation/Infrastructure Systems ....................................................................................................................................................................... 19 Major Highway Freight Corridors ......................................................................................................................................................................... 19 Freight by Railroad ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 21 Air ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 22 Employee Commuting Patterns ........................................................................................................................................................................... 22 Public Transportation ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 23 Mobility and Transportation Planning ................................................................................................................................................................. 23 Page i Box Elder Rural Transportation Planning Organization (RTPO) ........................................................................................................................... 24 Bear River Mobility Council .................................................................................................................................................................................. 24 Infrastructure ........................................................................................................................................................................................................... 24 Broadband ............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 25 Water Systems ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 25 Sewer Systems ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 26 Solid Waste .......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 26 Police .................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 27 Fire and Emergency ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 27 Health Care .......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 28 Education ............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 28 Recreation ............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 28 Industrial Parks..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 28 Geography .................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 31 Natural Resources ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 32 Agriculture ................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 33 Tourism ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 34 Environment ................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 35 Analysis of Economic Development Problems and Opportunities .............................................................................................................................. 42 Other plans Considered in this Strategy .................................................................................................................................................................. 44 Past, Present, Future Investment Opportunities ..................................................................................................................................................... 45 Economic Clusters .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 46 Page ii Community and Private Sector Involvement Including Programs and Activities ........................................................................................................ 49 Public Involvement .................................................................................................................................................................................................