Condos in the Woods: The Growth of Seasonal and Retirement Homes in Northern Wisconsin

Chapter 4: The Regional Context of Reinvention of a Rural Area

W hile rural American communities have recently transformed significantly in terms of population, environment, and social organization at the national level (as discussed in the previous chapter), northwestern Wisconsin has undergone its own unique changes. In this chapter we move from a national picture of rural change and direct our focus on a small subregion—the Pine Barrens of northwestern Wisconsin and our study area within the region (see figure .). This region has experienced large changes in demographics: first in population decline and then growth. Changes also include out-migration of youth, in-migration of adult workers and retirees, new housing development , and an upswing in seasonal homeownership. Pine Barrens communities are changing as new people move in, lumber mills close, and tourism and vacation homes grow. Since the s, population growth in the area has spawned new economic activities and created more diversified employment opportunities. Wisconsin’s State Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP) indicates that as a region, the five Pine Barrens counties of Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas, Polk, and Washburn have experienced a . percent population increase since  and a  percent population increase since .1 This growth was not, however, evenly distributed. During these fifty years, chapter  The Regional Context of Reinvention of a Rural Area  1. Data used for analysis in this chapter are drawn from the United States Decennial Census (Summary File  and Summary File ) for the years , , , and  (a, b). The historical Census data were derived from the GeoLytics Census software packages for  and ;  and  data were obtained through the Census Bureau’s web resource, American Fact Finder. The Regional Context of Reinvention of a Rural Area  Polk County had the highest growth ( percent) while Douglas County lost  percent of its population. Douglas County is the northern most county in the state and most distant from the Twin Cities metropolitan area, factors that decreased its natural amenity appeal. With the exception of Douglas County, each of the other counties experienced its most dramatic growth during the s. This reflected the beginning of the rural rebound introduced in the previous chapter as well as the beginning of new “quality of life” and natural amenity migration in the Northwoods. The population spiked again in the early s, mirroring the national rural figure .. Map of the study area rebound. Douglas County also appears to be experiencing this resurgence demonstrating positive growth throughout the s and positive estimates since  (SCORP ). The population waves of the Pine Barrens mirror the trends seen in rural counties throughout the United States. Most of the population growth in the Pine Barrens comes from inmigration of new residents. The concentration of new in-migrants from out of state is an important variable to demonstrate the growth of new rural constituencies and significant community change in rural areas (Winkler et al. ). In total,  percent of the population in the five Pine Barrens counties (over five years of age) moved into the area from out of state since . This means that more than one out of ten Pine Barrens residents recently moved to Wisconsin and settled in the region, bringing important changes to their new communities. Further, . percent of the population are not just new residents, but residents who have moved from a metropolitan area to a nonmetropolitan area within the Pine Barrens since . Not only is there a significant flow of out-of-state migrants to the region, but also  percent of those new residents have left metropolitan areas to settle in nonmetropolitan communities of the Pine Barrens. In an interview a county board member in the Pine Barrens repeatedly emphasized the significance of new residents in the community, saying: “We’ve got a lot of new folks now, new retirees especially. They’re younger and active and join in a lot of recreation pursuits.” New people are moving into Wisconsin’s Pine Barrens and reshaping their communities just as amenity-rich rural communities across the United States are experiencing similar transformations . The vast majority ( percent) of out-of-state migrants to the Pine Barrens came from elsewhere in the Midwest. Fourteen percent came from the West and  percent from the South, with migration from the Northeast constituting only  percent of new Pine Barrens residents from  to  (U.S. Decennial Census c). This migration flow shows the regional significance of the Pine Barrens as an important recreation destination and natural amenity hotspot. The large urban centers of the Midwest provide regional migrants for Wisconsin’s...