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How The Mountain West Can Build A Fourth Legacy Industry

  //humor-quirks.news-articles.net/content/2025/09 .. ain-west-can-build-a-fourth-legacy-industry.html
  Published in Humor and Quirks on Wednesday, September 10th 2025 at 15:17 GMT by Forbes
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The Mountain West’s Next Frontier: From Boom‑Bust to Sustainable Growth

For almost a century, the rugged high‑altitude corridors of the American West have lived by the rhythm of a familiar refrain: boom, bust, and then, another burst. Mineral veins and ranching opportunities have spurred rapid expansions, only to be followed by drought, market shocks, and the collapse of once‑promising industries. The new Forbes Business Council piece, “Breaking the Boom‑Bust Cycle: How the Mountain West Can Build a Fourth Legacy Industry,” argues that the region’s future hinges on a decisive shift to a fourth, enduring sector—one that can weave together the region’s natural wealth, its talent pool, and its growing infrastructure.

A Legacy of Boom‑Bust

The article opens with a concise chronicle of the region’s economic highs and lows. The discovery of silver in Colorado’s Leadville, the oil rush in the Permian Basin, and the tourism boom of the ski resorts each sparked exponential growth. But each was followed by a sharp decline: the Great Depression, the shale slump, the global recession of 2008, and more recently, the pandemic‑driven downturn. These cycles have left a legacy of uneven prosperity, brain‑drain, and a fragmented job market that struggles to match the region’s talent.

The author cites Forbes Business Council members—including venture capitalists, university administrators, and state officials—who agree that the “boom‑bust model is unsustainable.” They note that 67 % of businesses in Colorado’s high‑tech corridor reported a talent shortage in the last two years, while rural counties have seen a 12 % decline in population over the past decade.

The Fourth Legacy Industry: High‑Tech, High‑Impact

The crux of the article is a call to develop a fourth legacy industry that combines high‑technology with high social impact: the article identifies advanced manufacturing, especially of clean‑energy components, as a prime candidate. Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming already have strong manufacturing footprints—think aerospace parts, precision tools, and mining equipment—but the focus now must shift toward producing the hardware that powers the next green economy.

Key technologies highlighted include:

The article also discusses a burgeoning biotech cluster in Boulder and Salt Lake City, driven by the presence of world‑class universities and the region’s culture of innovation. A Forbes Business Council member from the University of Colorado notes that the state has already produced three startups that have raised over $500 million in venture capital, all in the fields of medical devices and digital health.

Policy Levers to Unlock Growth

To transition to this fourth legacy industry, the piece outlines a set of coordinated policy measures:

1. Workforce Development
   • Expand STEM curricula in K‑12 schools, with a focus on clean‑energy engineering.
   • Partner with community colleges to create apprenticeship programs that feed into advanced manufacturing and biotech roles.

2. Infrastructure Investment
   • Expand broadband to the 75 % of rural counties that lack high‑speed internet.
   • Build a high‑speed rail link between Denver and Salt Lake City to reduce shipping times for heavy industrial components.

3. Fiscal Incentives
   • Offer tax credits for companies that invest in CCU facilities or battery recycling plants.
   • Create a “Green Manufacturing Innovation Fund” to support start‑ups in the clean‑energy space.

4. Regulatory Streamlining
   • Fast‑track permitting for clean‑energy infrastructure projects.
   • Simplify environmental review processes for projects that align with state climate goals.

5. Public‑Private Partnerships
   • Leverage university research centers to create spin‑offs that can attract venture capital.
   • Encourage state-owned land to be used for renewable energy pilots and research.

The Forbes Business Council article cites a recent joint task force report from the Colorado Department of Energy and the University of Utah, which recommends a 10‑year plan to double the state’s renewable‑energy manufacturing capacity. The report also projects a 30 % increase in high‑skill jobs in the region by 2035 if the recommended policies are implemented.

Success Stories and The Road Ahead

The article concludes with concrete examples of how a similar transition has worked elsewhere. In the Pacific Northwest, the city of Tacoma’s “Manufacturing for the Future” program has transformed the region from a traditional industrial hub into a leader in green‑manufacturing, creating over 5,000 new jobs in the last decade. Meanwhile, the city of Tucson, Arizona, has leveraged its solar abundance to become a world‑class supplier of high‑efficiency photovoltaic components.

These case studies serve as a blueprint for the Mountain West, but the author stresses that the region’s unique challenges—remote geography, a historically narrow economic base, and the need to preserve the environmental qualities that define it—require a nuanced approach. The key, as reiterated by the Forbes Business Council members, is collaboration: state and local governments, universities, industry, and investors must co‑design a roadmap that balances economic growth with ecological stewardship.

In sum, the Forbes piece is both a diagnosis of a systemic problem and a blueprint for a sustainable solution. It posits that the next chapter of the Mountain West’s economic story can be written in clean‑energy manufacturing, advanced biotech, and digital health—industries that promise resilience, high wages, and an enduring legacy that, unlike its predecessors, is unlikely to be toppled by the next market shock.