Informing planning and management through visitor experiences in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument

Derrick Taff; Jeremy Wimpey; Jeffrey L. Marion; Johanna Arredondo; Fletcher Meadema; Forrest Schwartz; Ben Lawhon; Cody Dems

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USGS · 70210074

Informing planning and management through visitor experiences in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument

Derrick Taff·Jeremy Wimpey·Jeffrey L. Marion·Johanna Arredondo·Fletcher Meadema·Forrest Schwartz·Ben Lawhon·Cody Dems

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Abstract

Policies mandate that managers at Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument must balance recreational opportunities with a variety of resource management and utilization activities across a vast and diverse landscape containing numerous Wilderness Study Areas and other lands containing spectacular resources. This balancing act is stressed by increasing levels of use and recent changes in management direction and policy. An understanding of visitor preferences and current social conditions is an essential component of recreation management; however, scant social science data exist for the Monument. This study used semistructured qualitative interviews to describe Monument visitors’ motivations, experiences, and perceptions to determine existing social conditions. Results can help inform possible indicators of quality that can be used for long-term monitoring and adaptive management of the Monument’s unique wilderness resource.

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International Journal of Wilderness Article

Source-reported bounding extent: 37.45959832290546° to 37.54566616715801° latitude; -111.56547546386719° to -111.40754699707031° longitude. This indicates report coverage, not an exact sampling location. View area on OpenStreetMap.

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BibTeX RIS

Derrick Taff, Jeremy Wimpey, Jeffrey L. Marion, Johanna Arredondo, Fletcher Meadema, Forrest Schwartz, Ben Lawhon, Cody Dems. 2019. Informing planning and management through visitor experiences in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/70210074

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