Priest River Community Survey Results
Prepared by
Tammi Laninga
Iris Mayes
Students in BIOP 520
September 2009
The University of Idaho Understanding the Bioregional Landscapes of Priest River/Bonner County Survey was administered over two days, September 25 and 26, 2009. The bulk of the surveys were collected on the second day, Saturday at the Priest River Oktoberfest.
There were seven questions that asked for a range of information regarding citizens’ values, opinions of threats to those values and what they would like to see done in the town and area. Additionally, they were asked where they work and shop, the geographic boundaries of their “home” territory, where and how long they have resided in the area and their age. We received 46 surveys with most respondents answering most of the questions.
Residence and Age
Of survey respondents, 86 percent answered that they lived in Priest River with an average of 25 years of residence. Seven respondents (17 percent) live in counties other than Bonner. The average age of survey respondents was 50 years old.
Value Priest River
Survey respondents were asked an open-ended question about what they value about Priest River. The majority of responses fell into two main categories: small-town community (77 percent) and natural resources/scenic beauty (48 percent). Other responses included access to recreation (7 percent) and one regarding opportunity for economic development of the area (2 percent). See Table 1.
Table 1. What Survey Respondents Value about Priest River
Category / Percent of RespondentsSmall town/people / 77%
Nature/beauty / 48%
Access to recreation / 7%
Other / 2%
Value Bonner County
The questionnaire also asked what respondents value about Bonner County. The main three categories of questions were small-town community (48 percent), natural resources/scenic beauty (62 percent) and access to recreational opportunities (29 percent). See Table 2.
Table 2. What Survey Respondents Value about Bonner County
Category / Percent of RespondentsSmall town/people / 48%
Nature/beauty / 62%
Access to recreation / 29%
Other / 10%
Threats to Valued Attributes and Resources
The question regarding threats was also an open-ended question. Most responses fell into three categories: development/overpopulation/loss of natural resources (59 percent), lack or loss of jobs/bad economy (39 percent), and difficulty of change facing the community (15 percent) see Table 3.
Table 3. Threats to Values
Category / Percent of RespondentsLoss of natural resources/development/overpopulation / 59%
Difficulty of change / 15%
Lack/loss of jobs/bad economy / 39%
Social problems / 7%
Other, eg. Wolves / 2%
Top priorities for Bonner County
The fifth survey question asked respondents to mark their top five priorities for actions the Bonner County community must take in order to survive the next 20 years. The top five responses were:
· 67% of respondents selected "Bring in business to provide needed jobs that support your vision of the future"
· 54% of respondents selected "Increase education opportunities by forming partnerships with regional universities and colleges
· 46 % of respondents selected "Improve the recreational infrastructure"
· 43% of respondents selected "Develop a bike/walking path between Priest River and Old Town/Sand point (circle town)" (all but 3 did not circle)
· Develop shops along the river, with a public park/monument and walkways
Table 4 summarizes all of the responses.
Table 4. Prioritized Actions for the Bonner County Community
Category / Percent of RespondentsBring in business to provide needed jobs that support your vision of the future / 67%
Increase education opportunities by forming partnerships with regional universities and colleges / 54%
Improve the recreational infrastructure / 47%
Develop a bike/walking path between Priest River and Old Town/Sand point (circle town) / 43%
Develop shops along the river, with a public park/monument and walkways / 39%
Encourage Alternative/Bio-fuels production for energy and heating / 37%
Address housing needs for seniors and young families / 30%
Build a multi-age/multi-purpose indoor/outdoor recreational facility / 28%
Preserve your timber/logging heritage / 26%
Preserve quality agricultural/timber lands from being converted to nonfarm uses / 26%
Increase the tax base by encouraging manufacturing/tech businesses to relocate here / 26%
Build a multi-age/multi-purpose community center / 26%
More historic preservation, particularly outside of Priest River / 13%
Increase the tax base by encouraging people to relocate here / 4%
Locations for Working and Shopping
Four sub-questions asked respondents where they work and shop. The largest single group of survey respondents stated that they work in Priest River, however adding the other categories, half of those surveyed work outside Priest River. Seventeen percent of respondents are retired. See Table 5. Most respondents shop for their food in Priest River (68 percent), see Table 6. A large percentage of respondents, 64 percent, got to Sandpoint to shop for essential household items, however, most respondents said they prefer to shop at local stores (66 percent) over box stores (9 percent). Twenty-two percent of respondent said that it would depend on what they were shopping for or price as to whether they would prefer a local store.
Table 5. Work Locations
Priest River / 44%
Other / 22%
Retired / 17%
Sandpoint / 11%
Newport / 11%
All of the Above / 6%
Table 6. Food Shopping Locations
Category / Percent of RespondentsPriest River / 68%
Sandpoint / 35%
Newport / 21%
Other / 15%
Table 7. Shopping for Essential Household Items
Category / Percent of RespondentsSandpoint / 64%
Other / 52%
Priest River / 27%
Newport / 3%
Respondent’s Home Region
The final question on the survey asked respondents to draw a line around an area that depicts their “home” region. These responses were digitized and are shown in Figure 1.
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