Aviation View | Volume 1, Issue 2

166 AVIATION VIEW VOLUME 1, ISSUE 2 of the airport available for commercial and industrial development, which would be perfect for an aviation company that needs access to the runways. “We have been exploring several options for development,” says Lewis. “A lot of firms are insecure right now about the future but we have been working with the Economic Development office to try and attract the right businesses and what might be possible with those acres. With future development in mind, we also work with the Farmington Convention and Visitors Bureau, and they are a fantastic partner – we have been trying to create awareness for this region amongst people who would be flying into the airport or using commercial service. They’ve provided a lot of information that we’ve used in our discussions with potential commercial operators, so they’ve been an invaluable resource.” The region is well known for its natural resources, having a large deposit of natural gas in the San Juan Basin. The gas industry was once the major employer and Farmington was the headquarters for several energy companies. This was the economic driver. But the economic and tourism departments have been looking at diversifying the economy to include outdoor recreation as the region is blessed with many natural and manmade opportunities to be outdoors enjoying these amenities to their fullest. The community is welcoming private investment in developing these opportunities as well as encouraging companies to choose this region to live and work in manufacturing and testing all categories of outdoor recreational equipment. This region and the state of New Mexico have recently begun to realize that particularly this Northwestern region offers many untapped outdoor recreation opportunities. There is gold medal world class fly fishing in the San Juan River, the municipal golf course is always rated as one of the top five municipal golf courses in the nation due to its beautiful vistas and Courtesy of Farmington Convention and Visitors Bureau Courtesy of Farmington Convention and Visitors Bureau Courtesy of Farmington Convention and Visitors Bureau