Economic Development District
In 1996, an economic analysis was performed of Grays Harbor, Mason, Pacific,
and Wahkiakum Counties; the area encompassed by the Columbia Pacific Resource
Conservation and Development District. An important outcome of that study
was the creation of an Economic Development District (EDD) encompassing these
four counties.
EDDs are federally sanctioned organizations created to reduce
unemployment and under-employment, and increase incomes in areas of economic
distress. The main component for accomplishing this function is the creation
of a Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS). Economic Development
Districts are established because no other organizations within their region
have the capacity and access to resources to create regional economic development
plans that include and benefit each community in the district.
