Presentation Type
Presentation
Faculty Mentor’s Full Name
David Shively
Faculty Mentor’s Department
Geography
Abstract / Artist's Statement
Every system on the planet – be it a forest stand, a specific Native American community, or a town – has capacity for resilience. Every system is like a rubber band and the resilience of the system is based on how far the band can be pulled without snapping. Resilience can be understood utilizing two concepts from the complex adaptive system theory – the adaptive cycle and the panarchy model. The adaptive cycle is a model that assesses a system’s resilience state, and the panarchy model shows interactions with other systems’ adaptive cycles that have different spatiotemporal characteristics. Twisp’s resilience is analyzed using these models.
Situated at the base of the Northern Cascade Mountains at the confluence of the Methow and Twisp rivers, Twisp’s setting is seemingly idyllic. Founded in 1897, today Twisp has a population of nearly 1,000 people. It’s been home to a Native American Tribe (the Methow Indians), gold miners, and loggers. Today, it’s a tourist town drawing hikers, seasonal vacationers, and retirees. Twisp’s resilience is assessed in the context of its history and people, its exposure to natural hazards, and its transition to a tourism-based economy. This study leverages cultural and political ecologic theory using primary and secondary sources including government documents, non-governmental organization reports, and newspaper articles. Twisp’s economic transformation from logging to tourism-based over the last 50 years shows that it has completed its first Euro-American dominated adaptive cycle. The current iteration of the cycle is not complete. For Twisp to become truly resilient it needs to contend with new challenges including a revised wildfire regime, resentment of new residents by locals, increasing property values, and the question of whether a population of rich urban escapees can sustain a small town.
Category
Social Sciences
The Town of Twisp: Resilience and Rejuvenation
Every system on the planet – be it a forest stand, a specific Native American community, or a town – has capacity for resilience. Every system is like a rubber band and the resilience of the system is based on how far the band can be pulled without snapping. Resilience can be understood utilizing two concepts from the complex adaptive system theory – the adaptive cycle and the panarchy model. The adaptive cycle is a model that assesses a system’s resilience state, and the panarchy model shows interactions with other systems’ adaptive cycles that have different spatiotemporal characteristics. Twisp’s resilience is analyzed using these models.
Situated at the base of the Northern Cascade Mountains at the confluence of the Methow and Twisp rivers, Twisp’s setting is seemingly idyllic. Founded in 1897, today Twisp has a population of nearly 1,000 people. It’s been home to a Native American Tribe (the Methow Indians), gold miners, and loggers. Today, it’s a tourist town drawing hikers, seasonal vacationers, and retirees. Twisp’s resilience is assessed in the context of its history and people, its exposure to natural hazards, and its transition to a tourism-based economy. This study leverages cultural and political ecologic theory using primary and secondary sources including government documents, non-governmental organization reports, and newspaper articles. Twisp’s economic transformation from logging to tourism-based over the last 50 years shows that it has completed its first Euro-American dominated adaptive cycle. The current iteration of the cycle is not complete. For Twisp to become truly resilient it needs to contend with new challenges including a revised wildfire regime, resentment of new residents by locals, increasing property values, and the question of whether a population of rich urban escapees can sustain a small town.