Asbestos aftermath: Libby puts focus on natural resources for town's rebirth

Mark Peck is tired of typing “Libby” into his Google search bar and seeing stories of asbestosis pop up, as though the town and the disease are synonymous.

“It makes it seem like we are all wandering around here in some kind of a horror movie. Everyone is suffering from asbestos fatigue at this point and we are ready to shed our reputation of being the sick place,” said Peck, one of three county commissioners for Lincoln County.

Others in the town can sympathize, as few are willing to talk about the health and environmental crisis that has defined the town’s identity for decades.

One store owner said he would prefer not to talk about it “because it makes it that much more difficult for all of us to move on.” Another local resident said she is “so sick of being asked if she’s sick.”

It seems the people of Libby are ready for a renaissance.

The town’s current reputation was formed two decades ago after media outlets broke the story about how long-time operations at the W.R. Grace & Co. vermiculite mine tainted the town and its people with toxic amphibole asbestos dust, killing hundreds and leaving thousands more with a diagnosis of asbestos-related illnesses.

But Peck, and many others in the community, say it’s time to focus on the next two decades.

“We are the Phoenix of asbestos, rising from the dust,” Peck said.

As for what the town’s new identity will be, community leaders have turned their attention to the town’s natural assets for inspiration. Business owners, residents and other stakeholders see the area’s towering Cabinet Mountains, winding Kootenai River and other environmental resources that have made the region attractive to residents and tourists alike as opportunities to turn Libby into a hub for outdoor enthusiasts.

He and others imagine that with marketing and advertising assistance, fishermen, hikers, hunters and others would quickly recognize the area as one of Montana’s greatest wilderness treasures.

And between the town’s remote location and smaller population, people can take advantage of the town’s surrounding public lands without hoards of other people trying to do the same. However, some in Libby are concerned that rebranding efforts may impact that sought-after solitude.

“We are seeing folks come here because they are sick of the populations of people elsewhere, and once that ball gets rolling enough, it doesn’t really stop,” Peck said. “So how do we maintain the balance of people wanting to experience this, but not necessarily with other people? It would be nice to control our density to some extent.”

How to control that density is one question the town is still trying to answer as it tweaks its rebranding plans, but even with much of the brainstorming still underway, Libby is inching towards its goal of labeling itself an outdoor paradise.

For example, sprawled across the Libby Chamber of Commerce’s website is video footage of someone barreling down a river in a kayak followed by a group on mountain bikes and another group on horseback, all with the region’s mountains as a backdrop to their adventures.

“This place is beautiful. Anyone can see that. And that’s our strength, you know?” Peck said.

LINCOLN COUNTY really started looking into how they may be able to resurrect Libby’s image when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency came into the final stretch of its decontamination efforts. As the EPA now prepares to hand off most of its 20-year project to state and local governments, community leaders see the pending departure of the federal government as an ideal jumping-off point for Libby’s rebirth.

“We know business owners in places like Kalispell and Missoula that have expressed interest in wanting to expand to and invest in Libby. But a lot of them have been waiting for the EPA’s cleanup to wrap up, which is understandable,” Peck said.

In the spring of 2015, Peck started looking elsewhere for guidance on how to broach the enormous task of not just rebranding a business, but an entire town. He turned to the University of Montana’s School of Business Administration for help.

After Peck’s initial meeting with the school’s business faculty and marketing firm, he said he felt the students and faculty were up to the task. Shortly after returning home from that meeting, he petitioned the University of Montana’s Small Business Institute, along with PartnersCreative — a marketing agency in Missoula — to collectively tackle the job.

The agency and university have both been monumental in helping the town brainstorm ways for moving forward. Peck says, based on multiple meetings, the rebranding is going to be a challenge, but it’s one that he says the people of Libby are up for.

Perhaps one of the biggest challenges, which marketing professionals say will be necessary in order to move forward, will be learning to embrace Libby’s history in its entirety — asbestos crisis included.

“They tell me that what we see as our nemesis is actually one of our strongest attributes,” Peck said. “From the collapse of the timber industry, then to mining, then to asbestos, we have a really compelling story to tell that we can only tell by owning the past and showing people how far we have come since.”

Reporter Kianna Gardner can be reached at 758-4407 or kgardner@dailyinterlake.com