It ain't pretty

Other than copywriters in the “Pure Michigan” spin shop, no one familiar with Ingham, Clinton and Eaton counties would rate them high on “natural amenities.”

But who knew that they were among the least attractive counties in the country?

The U.S. Agriculture Department actually quantifies natural amenities, ranking all 3,111counties (Hawaii and Alaska excluded) for scenery and climate. Mid-Michigan — in fact most of Michigan — is among the least desirable places to live in the country. Which isn´t to say that there aren´t beautiful vistas. But the amenities index deals with the weather, the landscape and access to water.

Starting to make sense now, isn´t it?

The Washington Post last week featured the USDA´s analysis on its website, with a county-by-county map. It identified Ventura in California as the most attractive county in the country; last among counties at 3,111st was Red Lake County in Minnesota.

We´re not that bad. But we´re close.

According to the ranking complied by the Post, Ingham County was graded at 2,989, and Eaton at 2,938. Clinton trails at 3,006.

Here´s the problem. The survey reflects factors that are driving population changes. As the last census report made clear, people are leaving the state, although this trend seems to have abated. Most of this migration is economic. Job prospects in Michigan are worse here than in other parts of the country. But in general the Michigan lifestyle is, how shall I put it, an acquired taste.

What the USDA quantified was average January temperatures, average January days of sun, the winter-summer temperature gap, low average July humidity, variations in topography and water area as a proportion of total county area.

“The six measures used in the natural amenities composite score were selected on the basis of a conception of the environmental qualities most people prefer, availability of measures, simplicity, nonredundancy, and the correlation to population change,” the USDA said of its analysis. There are people who like flat terrain — me, for example, or long winters and cool summers. They cluster in the states surrounding the Great Lakes: Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa and Minnesota.

So here are Ingham County´s attributes. The January temperature averaged 22.6 degrees (based on data from 1941 to 1970) with 104 hours of sunshine. The July temperature averaged 70.9 with 60 percent humidity. And this is where the county really lost points: The percentage of water to land was just 0.31 percent. It was slightly better in Eaton County at 0.44 percent and in Clinton County at .54 percent. In Michigan, only Gratiot County at 0.26 percent does worse. The best are Keweenaw and Leelanau counties at 75 percent.

The last measurement is challenging for the USDA, but for mid-Michigan´s landlocked and largely lakeless counties it really isn´t an issue. But it explains the gulf between the haves and have nots.

“Coastal areas and areas with lakes are more pleasant than areas lacking surface water. Coding water area proved a problem, however. In this data tape, from the Bureau of the Census, coastal waters, because the boundaries extend out three miles, are inevitably large and dwarf inland lakes in their surface area. The problem is particularly distorting in the Great Lakes, as the entire water area within U.S. boundaries is assigned to counties along the shores.” USDA said in its analysis.

Another factor that affects this region, and much of the northern tier of the country, is the variation between winter and summer temperatures. Most desirable is a temperate climate with little temperature gain between January and July. In Ingham, Clinton and Eaton, the difference is about 48 degrees. For most highly rated counties the different is no higher than the low 30s, with Ventura showing just an 11 -degree difference and highly rated Florida counties in the mid-teens.

Some counties like Jefferson in Colorado have wide swings, from 32 degrees in the winter to 73 degrees in the summer. Where they score high is scenery — high mountains. “In general, the more varied the topography, the more appealing the setting,” USDA said.

And some perspective here. We´re not Kittson County, Minnesota, where the January temperature is 1 degree, rising to 68 in the summer. This poor county is ranked 3,101 out of 3,111.

While some communities leading the most desirable list are spectacular, most of the country falls between low average and high average. Michigan´s top-rated counties ring the northern rim of lakes Michigan and Huron, but even they are hardly beautiful or desirable everywhere. Few places are.

In Ingham, Clinton and Eaton, what we do is use what we´ve got: Grand and Red Cedar rivers or the cliffs in Grand Ledge. Nudging nature a bit, we create “natural amenities” like Hawk Island County Park or the city´s new Fidelity Lake in Crego Park. And we interconnect these resources with a network of river trails.

It´s not the Sierra Nevada Mountain range, but we don´t have a drought. And it´s not the Florida tropics, but there´s no hurricane season. Our counties may be amenities-challenged, but they are sturdy, and there´s something in that.