Background

The City of Fort Bragg is home to nearly 7,000 residents and serves as the commercial center for surrounding communities along the Mendocino coast – a rural region overlooking the Pacific Ocean, characterized by rugged mountains, traversed with rivers, home to magnificent redwood and kelp forests, and the cultural and ancestral homelands of Indigenous communities. 

Fort Bragg occupies 2.7 square miles, a third of which has served as a timber mill for generations. Historically, the regional economy has centered on logging and fishing, which have experienced declines in recent decades.  Since Georgia-Pacific closed the timber mill in 2002, living wage jobs have not been replaced, and the local economy now relies on tourism.

The compounding effects of climate related stressors, demographic shifts, and the COVID-19 pandemic exposed both a vulnerable environment and fragile economy.  In 2020, the US Department of Commerce invested in an economic diversification study for the City. This effort culminated in a 4-day city wide event – the May 2022 Blue Economy Symposium and Learning Festival, which started the process of establishing a blue economy vision and identify paths forward to help us realize our goals. 

Over the past several years, the City has worked diligently to bring local, state, and federal resources to the area that position our region for blue economy investment. Many partnerships have resulted and we are making tangible progress to create a sustainable economy that supports our community and environment.