Business View Civil and Municipal | Volume 3, Issue 3

99 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 3, ISSUE 3 CARLSBAD , NEW MEX I CO of thousands of visitors each year. “The Carlsbad Caverns had approximately 305,000 visitors last year, despite some pretty strict COVID rules in the early parts of that. We are also the host city to Guadalupe Mountains National Park, and they reported record visitation,” Janway reports. “I think a lot of people wanted to go experience nature when they were finally able to get out.” It’s not just the scenery that makes Carlsbad so special. The area is home to a thriving oil and gas industry, as well as being a hub for potash mining and nuclear waste removal. Potash has been vital to Carlsbad’s economy for years, led by two major companies – Intrepid and Mosaic. Carlsbad is also the epicenter of the shale revolution caused by horizontal drilling, which has created a boom in the area in recent years. “We have thousands of oil and gas jobs in the area and over the past years, large companies such as Exxon and Chevron have started opening regional offices here in Carlsbad,” says John Lowe, Carlsbad’s City Administrator. Oil and gas prices declined in 2020 causing a dip in the industry, but Janway says Carlsbad is already starting to recover considerably. Even the negative economic effects caused by the pandemic are swiftly disappearing. The area has seen marked improvement in business retention and attraction. He acknowledges, “It’s safe to say we’re in the midst of a very healthy recovery period. You’ve got significant population growth, you’ve got good per-capita income. All of those things have made Carlsbad very attractive to businesses here. Our business recruitment and development people stay very busy getting interest from places all around.” The city’s largest employer is the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, run by the U.S. Department of Energy. The site disposes of defense-generated transuranic waste, including clothing, tools, rags, residue, debris, and soil that have been contaminated with small amounts of plutonium and other man-made radioactive elements. The site employs 1500 people, including employees from two national labs, which are located right in the city. Carlsbad is also considering an application for a new Mayor, Dale Janway