Connie Beauvais, an alpaca rancher in Joyce, thinks Clallam County needs a cooperative animal fiber processing mill.

“There are people who are inundated with fiber because they can’t process it,” said Beauvais.

“Half of the sheep fleeces in Clallam County are buried, burned or thrown away because there are no processors for the fleeces.”

A fleece processing mill has the potential of bringing of $202,500 a year of new revenue to the county — along with three new jobs, Beauvais said.

Beauvais is a member of the Agriculture Cluster, one of six local business study groups that made 30-minute presentations as part of Clallam netWorks, an economic development project by the Clallam County Economic Development Council.

The goal: determine what industries have the most economic potential for Clallam County and, in turn, the entire North Olympic Peninsula.

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