Each natural resource industry has experienced economic fluctuations, evident even in the past five years. Forestry is steady or increasing in Kitsap and Mason counties, and fishing, hunting, and trapping remain steady across the counties. Agriculture demonstrates dramatic changes from year-to-year as markets and seasonal changes have a large impact. Click on additional graphs for more Hood Canal farm trends.
Tourism makes a large contribution to the Hood Canal economy. Just as economies have changed across WA state and the U.S., we have seen traditional natural resource industries fluctuating with the tides of supply and demand, and tourism steadily gaining, as recreational opportunities become more available and more well-known.
Hood Canal farm trends show a changing agriculture landscape in the region. As the overall number of farms has increased, farm size has simultaneously decreased. Throughout this time, total land in farms showed a significant decline starting in the 1970’s and lasting into the 1990’s, but dramatically increased in the late ‘90’s, and has remained steady.
The market value of Hood Canal farm products has fluctuated over the years with changes in farming practices, market demand, and land use. Livestock dominates Hood Canal farming activities; although Kitsap County crop production has increased over the past twenty years, with a sharp decline in livestock. All three counties saw a significant increase in market value starting in the nineties, when Mason County in particular has dramatically increased its livestock production.
Hood Canal prides itself on its local shellfish. The industry is present in all three counties, and includes active tribal shellfish operators, contributing revenue and employment to Hood Canal residents. The majority of Hood Canal’s shellfish production occurs in the south, in Mason County.
