This is What Economy Looks Like

By Olivia Juarez

Edited by Connor Estes

Economy: from the Latin word oeconomia meaning “household management.” Derived from the Greek word oikonomia meaning “household management, thrift,” and oikonomos meaning “manager, steward.” Each etymological source derived from Greek root words nemin; nomos; and oikos meaning “manage; managing; and home or dwelling” respectively

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Volunteers plant native vegetation at Wuda Ogwa on November 7, 2025.

With shovel, trowel, or auger in gloved hands, 300 volunteers uprooted sod and earth not unlike the moist texture and color of perfectly warmed chocolate ice cream to make space for native vegetation returning to Wuda Ogwa. After three hours of digging and planting, hundreds of new saplings stood upright in the Earth, ready to overwinter. On that planting day I looked out at us busy bees and thought, “this is what economy looks like.” Hundreds of people: 

• planting native vegetation, 

• drawing ecosystem restoration schematics,

• tending to seeds and saplings in nurseries,

• removing invasive species, 

• conducting community outreach, 

• managing grants, 

• building partnerships, 

• operating landscaping tools, 

• purchasing and transporting project supplies, 

• tending trails, 

• telling the story of this historic restoration project, 

and more seen and unseen restoration work. 

It is fitting that the literal definition of the word economy has to do with the stewardship of a home. After all, stewardship of our one and only home 🌎 should be the defining characteristic of this century. 

On an unusually warm November Friday, I was among these 300 volunteers to plant more than 30 plant species at Wuda Ogwa, where the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation owns about 350 acres of land along the mighty Bear River. There, Vice Chairman Brad Parry shared that the Tribe is $14 million deep into their investment in restoring this wetland habitat for durable ecological, cultural, and historical healing.

Listen to Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation Vice Chairman Brad Parry and Cultural, History, and Spiritual Advisor Rios Pacheco on Stay Salty: Lakefacing Stories podcast episodes Healing the Watershed: How the Northwestern Shoshone are Restoring Wuda Ogwa and You Can’t Erase Us: Shoshone and Ute Connections to Great Salt Lake.

Volunteers smile with delight after planting cottonwood, service berry, willows, sumac, dogwood, choke cherry, golden current, wild rose and more native plants. 

A 2015 study Estimating the Size and Impact of the Ecological Restoration Economy found that the restoration industry supports as many as 33 jobs per $1 million invested with an economic output multiplier of between 1.6-2.6, and an employment multiplier of between 1.5-3.8. This means that restoration industry investments create jobs; those jobs create more jobs for others; and that restoration work increases spending elsewhere, avidly stimulating the economy. By comparison the oil and gas industry provides just 5.2 jobs per $1 million invested. If this study is correct, the Tribe’s restoration of Wuda Ogwa has supported as many as 462 jobs, and those 462 jobs have supported the work of another 693-1756 individuals. On account of all the biological consultants, engineers, administrators, coordinators, nonprofit staff, plant nursery staff, landscapers, and other workers involved in the project–along with the immense amount of supplies, services and software used by workers and volunteers–I’d bet this estimation is solidly in the ball court. 

The Utahn in me speaks loudly: economy has to do with industry, a word with Latin roots meaning “diligence, activity, zeal.” Like the bees that contribute to a functioning hive–the bees’ home–each of us can play a diligent, active role in the stewardship and management of our home. Utah culture values industriousness and the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation has equipped hundreds to work on Wuda Ogwa’s restoration. Meanwhile, equal opportunity is a deeply venerated value in this nation. Everybody should have equal opportunity to make a dignified living by actively stewarding our home. 

Another name for the Salt Lake Valley in Newe Taikwa–a Shoshone and Goshute language–is Soonkahni, meaning “many houses.” Learn about more indigenous place names from Arcia Tecun on Stay Salty: Lakefacing Stories podcast episode Shifting Culture: Honoring Relationships at Pia Okwai.

Stay Salty: Lakefacings Stories asks, “how can we stay in the face of ecological collapse at Great Salt Lake?” Pulling from the etymological roots of the words economy and industry, we can get a fair shot at staying through diligent activity stewarding our home (with zeal). This requires massive outlays from both public and private institutions. Companies need to compensate employees enough to thrive in their communities. Local government, federal, and private grants should invest in the restoration sector, transforming each of our tax contributions into the active stewardship of our nation. A restoration economy is part of what it means to stay. 

Just after noon on the fall planting day, a rainbow cast above the hills in the north. Will you fill the pot of gold at the end? Consider making a donation to the Wuda Ogwa restoration project by donating here or contacting the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation. 

Olivia Juarez is a Stay Salty: Lakefacing Stories podcast host and co-founder of Of Salt and Sand.