A pillar of the mission of the Greater Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce is to be a catalyst for community and economic development. Many citizens of Flagstaff can tell you, though, that one of the biggest catalysts for our regional economy is the Colorado River. That is why your Chamber, for the last two years, has been intimately involved in a group called Protect the Flows.
Protect the Flows was founded in 2011 as the business voice for the Colorado River. A Denver-based organization, Protect the Flows is a consortium of businesses in the seven state river basin (Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming) ranging from Main Street retailers to Fortune 500 companies and everything in between. As the business voice, Protect the Flows seeks to find common sense solutions to protect the Colorado River as so many local and regional economies depend on its health and vitality. The organization does this by promoting business-to-business (B2B) dialogue about best practices regarding water usage and engaging elected officials at all levels to make them aware of the concerns the business community has with the river.
As a massive economic driver, the Colorado River would list #155 and be the 19th largest employer on the Fortune 500 list if it were a company. The river directly supports over 234,000 jobs and produces $26 billion in annual economic output in the seven state basin. For Arizona alone, the river directly ensures that over 53,500 of our state’s citizens have a job, pouring nearly $6 billion a year into our economy.
In October of last year, the Chamber’s government affairs director, Mike Sistak, traveled to Denver to take part in Protect the Flow’s Business of Water Summit. The summit successfully brought together participants from around the seven state basin for B2B dialogue and conversations with policy makers. Traveling to Denver on the heels of the 2013 shutdown of the federal government, Sistak brought the message that Northern Arizona had seen a glimpse of what life without access to the river would be like when the Grand Canyon was closed to visitors.
In March, the Chamber brought in the co-director of the organization, Craig Mackey, for Protect the Flows and his first personal visit to Flagstaff. Mackey joined the organization in 2013 and brings a wealth of knowledge about the recreation business after having led the policy and lobbying efforts for the Outdoor Industry Association.
The Chamber hosted Mackey for two days of activities in the city. On the first day, Sistak toured the city with Mackey, bringing him to various meetings with elected officials and their staffs with the city, county, and Congresswoman Kirkpatrick’s district office. The goal was to introduce Flagstaff’s local leaders to Protect the Flows, and allow Mackey to learn about our region’s water policies.
What Mackey learned left him nothing short of amazed. “We’ve always known that Arizona has been ahead of the curve in water policy simply out of necessity,” he said. “What I didn’t know was how innovative Flagstaff has been in its water use.”
What Mackey learned was how Flagstaff uses and then re-uses its water through treatment and redistribution for the purposes of snowmaking at Snowbowl and grounds keeping, especially with our city’s golf courses. While recycled water is not a new concept, he said that he has never seen it used on such a wide scale to help prop up an entire recreation economy. He said that Flagstaff’s innovation is a success story that needs to be shared with others.
The second day of Mackey’s visit to Flagstaff included a roundtable discussion with Chamber members. Tom D’Agonstino, director of sales at Sonesta ES Suites, and a member of the Chamber’s Community and Economic Development Division, said he was really impressed with Mackey’s presentation. “As a hospitality business operator who regularly sees customers venturing to the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon, it is important to me that there are advocates for a healthy recreation industry in Northern Arizona. That’s the life blood of our tourism economy, without it, not only does my business suffer, but so do many sectors of Flagstaff.”
Recently, the staff at Protect the Flows appointed Mike Sistak to the organization’s Corporate Advisory Council. In this role, Sistak will continue to represent the Flagstaff business community by providing feedback on the water policy and recreation industry issues that are affecting our region. He will also help Protect the Flows strategize for its interactions with policy makers and business leaders.
For more information about Protect the Flows, visit their website at www.protectflows.com.