Conserving Iowa's land,
conserving Iowa's workforce

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By Gina McAndrews

Outdoor recreational opportunities like trails help attract and retain Iowa's workforce while supporting the economy in other ways. According to a recent study of three Minnesota trails, trail users (residents and visitors) spent $3.8 million annually in local communities for goods and services during the summer months alone.

There are many connections between Iowa's economy and Iowa's environment, some of which are beginning to be studied.

According to the Iowa Policy Project's report, The State of Working Iowa 2002, Iowa's labor force will be short 91,000 to 154,000 workers by 2010. In response to this projection, I was commissioned to investigate whether Iowa's environmental quality and outdoor recreation opportunities affect the ability of Iowa's Human Resource managers to recruit employees.

Eighty-six Human Resource (HR) managers from the Des Moines and Ames areas responded to a questionnaire on how important environmental quality (i.e. air and water) and outdoor recreational opportunities (i.e. parks, trails and wildlife diversity) are to the candidates they interview for middle to top management positions. In addition, two focus group sessions of HR managers were held to gather more in-depth information about the potential link between Iowa's environment and employee recruitment.

Two thirds of the HR managers responding to the survey reported that 'parks, trails and preserves,' 'water quality' and 'clean air,' are somewhat or very important to people they have interviewed for management positions. The respondents listed 'lakes and rivers,' 'bike trails' and 'parks and trails' as the outdoor recreation opportunities most likely to increase recruitment success.

In focus groups, HR managers noted that environmental quality and outdoor recreation opportunities are significant aspects of Iowa's 'quality of life.' Other important factors of Iowa's quality of life include safe neighborhoods, easy commutes and good education.

While HR managers realized that Iowa does not have oceans, mountains or all of the opportunities of larger cities, many HR representatives emphasized that Iowa has or can develop other positive features. One HR manager said "We can't compete with large cities in some ways, so we should use nature and environment as an attraction."

As Iowa explores economic development strategies, there is evidence that investing in conserving Iowa's natural resources would be beneficial.

Gina McAndrews is a post-doctorate researcher in the Agronomy department at Iowa State University. Her study was funded by the Iowa Policy Project

A survey of human resource managers says Iowa's water quality (or lack of it) can affect recruitment of top employees. Photo by Brenda Fullick

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