The call of the wild has lured retired IBM executive Vinnie Justino from upstate New York to the southern tip of the Rockies, where he can watch the sun kiss Sandia Peak every morning.
"The decision to come out here and work for Intel was probably one of the best decisions I ever made, next to marrying my wife," says Justino, who moved to Albuquerque this year. "I look at those mountains, especially when you get up in the morning . . . and it makes everything all worthwhile."Justino, 45, is one of thousands of modern-day pioneers who are staking out new careers along America's fastest-growing frontier, the midsize and smaller cities amid the steep canyons, prime trout streams and high deserts of the Rocky Mountains.
Together with a diverse industrial base, the immigrants have propelled the region into a national economic leader poised to be a formidable competitor in the emerging global marketplace.
"Nationally, people are moving back to the nation's mild and wild areas," said Phillip Burgess, head of the Center For the New West, a Denver-based business research institute. "Most of those mild and wild areas are in the Rocky Mountain West.
"They are leaving the big metro areas because of concerns about personal safety and health, and they're also leaving because they're losing control over taxes, spending, politics and schools."
The influx of people is changing the region's character and has fostered conflict between the new immigrants and long-established residents.
Last summer, an Idaho farmer was arrested after his neighbors complained about the noise he made baling hay.
In Jackson, Wyo., the population has nearly doubled in the past decade, changing the character of the town at the base of the majestic Teton Mountains.
"I used to be able to drive down the road and wave and know everybody coming the other way," said Bland Hoke, who has lived in the area intermittently for 30 years. "I can't do that now. It's just different."
For centuries, natural resources have sustained the West, but they have proven fickle, sending hopes and dreams on vicious roller-coaster rides.
The 1980s oil-and-gas bust, which put thousands out of jobs, was the last straw for Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.
They began to diversify by drawing manufacturing, services, tourism and telecommunications industries that have helped the region outperform the nation for several years, says economist Tucker Hart Adams of Central Banks of Colorado.
Ritch Bonkowski moved his electrical connector manufacturing plant from Southern California to Boise two years ago.
"Once I discovered that there was more to Idaho than its potatoes - beautiful mountains, beautiful forests, beautiful lakes, great people, a relatively conservative government . . . I decided on Idaho," he said.
Another important economic asset is the growth of telecommuters or "lone eagles," people who live in small towns and do business in larger cities via telephones, fax machines and computers.
"I think it's the most important social movement since the rise of the two-wage earner family," said Burgess.
The region's assets include a cleaner, more spectacular environment, less government regulation, lower tax rates and a chance to take a more active role in politics, particularly in smaller cities.
But the boom has created some problems - rising property values, a strain on the environment and a crunch on public services, from schools to overcrowded roads.
"There's a lot of people with outside businesses who live here," said Steve Thomas, chairman of the Teton County (Wyo.) Commission. "It's really good for the economy, but it's wrecking the hell out of our environment here."
Since 1990, the work force in the six states has increased 6 percent to 4.57 million in the latest figures available. The region's population is about 9.2 million, a 4.8 percent increase from 1990. Colorado was the most populated, with 3.5 million people, and Wyoming was the least, with 465,000.
In August, the unemployment rate for the six-state region averaged 5.5 percent - less than the national rate of 6.7 percent. The rate ranged from a low of 3.3 percent in Utah to a high of 7.4 percent in New Mexico.
The strongest economies are Colorado, New Mexico and Utah, while the weaker ones are Montana and Wyoming, where natural resources still play a large role in the economy, Adams said.
Although the picture is brighter for Montana than it was a decade ago, nonfarm income has dropped below 1980 levels and the average annual pay is among the lowest in the United States.
"Only in Montana would anyone call the current conditions prosperous," said Paul Polzin, director of the University of Montana Bureau of Business and Economic Research. "After 10 years of things being abysmal, we're just getting back to zero."
Economists believe the future remains bright for the region.
"With the rest of the nation starting to really bounce back, we'll continue to outperform, but not by the wide margin we have," Adams predicted.
Burgess said, "The West is really well-positioned for the future. First of all, the manufacturing base we have is the kind of manufacturing base that will dominate the future.
"Second of all, the small-scale operations in the West are what everybody is trying to become. Small companies are flexible, nimble and can easily adopt to new technologies."
One obstacle is the need to push for more private sector development, he noted.
In Colorado, for example, growth should slow some next year after Denver International Airport opens and Lowry Air Force Base closes, Adams said.
Other problems include keeping up with the roads, sewers and utilities needed to accommodate new residents and to mediate the inherent conflicts between the immigrants and the long-time residents.
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Utah
Population 1,820,000
Unemployment Aug. 3.3%
Average annual wage $21,612
Per capita personal income $15,400
Work force 859,100
Housing permits 1,924
Average home price $101,969 (Salt Lake City)
*estimate
Montana
Population 823,697*
Unemployment Aug. 5.7%
Average annual wage 19,375
Per capital personal income 16,062
Work Force 419,798
Single family housing permits 3,026
Average home price 106,642
(Boise)
*Estimate
SOURCE: Idaho Division of Financial Management; Ada County Board of Realtors
Wyoming
Population 465,000
Unemployment Aug. 5.5%
Average annual wage $24,232
Per capita personal income $17,423
Work force 246,795
Housing permits 102
Average home price $83,784
(Cheyenne)
* Estimate
Source: Wyoming Department of Employment, Division of Research and Board of Planning; Laramine and Natrona County Board of Realtor
Colorado
Population $3,540,700*
Unemployment Aug. 5.3%
Average annual wage $25,041
Per capita personal income $20,648
Work force $1,798,300
Housing permits 2,361
Average home price $180,500
(Denver)
Source: Colorado Department of Labor Statistics; Rocky Mountain Research Institute.
New Mexico
Population $1,581,00*
Unemployment Aug. 7.4%
Average annual wage $20,097
Per capita personal income $15,563
Work force 741,100
Housing permits 5,561
Average home price 97,758
(Albuouerque)
*Estimate
Source: U.S. Commerce Department of Bureau of Census; New Mexico Department of Labor, U.S. Department of Labor, Albuquerque Board of Realtors.