A dramatic comparison of federal land ownership in the West versus other regions.

The Atlantic magazine recently published a piece about the West entitled  The Graying of Rural America, which argues that, “As cities attract young people, rural America has become older, whiter, and less populated.”

The authors focus on Fossil, Oregon, the county seat of Wheeler County, which they describe as slowly dying. According to The Atlantic, the town began “bleeding jobs” after a lumber mill closed in 1978. Young people leave for educations and jobs in larger cities, and old people become trapped. They exist mostly on investment earnings or government checks like Social Security. Continue reading →