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“With the Stroke of a Pen”: Designation of the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument and the Impact on Trust

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Abstract

In September of 1996, without prior warning to Utah residents, the Clinton Administration announced the creation of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (GSENM) in southern Utah. Reactions by residents in neighboring gateway communities were both swift and intense. Lack of citizen input in the process drew ire among Utah citizens living near the monument and statewide. In this article we examine how the designation process has impacted residents’ trust in the federal agency managing the monument—the Bureau of Land Management. Research on trust in federal resource management agencies is important for successful natural resource planning and management. We extend the research by incorporating the manner in which the designation of the GSENM occurred as an additional factor in the analyses on trust. We find the manner of designation matters, and discuss implications of this finding for both research and policy makers.

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Notes

  1. Although Arizona and Colorado considered similar legislation in 2012, Utah was alone in passing it into law. In Arizona the bill passed the House and Senate, but Arizona governor Jan Brewer vetoed the bill. The bill failed in the Colorado legislature.

  2. For a complete history of the public lands which became GSENM see Belco and Rottinghaus (2009).

  3. Given only one respondent self-identified as Native American, we were unable to conduct specific analyses on Native American reactions to the GSENM designation.

  4. Demographics for our sample differ from the Census estimates as anticipated, given our selection of individuals who had lived in Escalante in 1996 and 2006. 2010 US Census data indicate a median age of 45 years for Escalante. The 2005–2009 American Community survey estimates indicate 53 % males and 47 % females in Escalante. Most residents have some college (51 % of men and 64 % of women) (U.S. Census Bureau 2012). The 1996 sample closely resembled Census estimates.

  5. Both component and overall model fit statistics from CFA support this measure. Detailed results available upon request.

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Acknowledgments

Thank you to the residents of Escalante, who graciously gave their time and thoughts for this study. In addition, thank you to Rick Krannich and Dale Blahna for providing the 1996 survey data, Alyssia Angus , Emily and Jim Goodwin, Brian Jennings, Becca Smith, Stephanie Malin and Emily Petrzelka for their research assistance. We also thank the Agricultural Experiment Station at Utah State University, which funded this research through project UTA00850.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Utah State University, Logan, UT, USA

    Peggy Petrzelka

  2. Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA

    Sandra Marquart-Pyatt

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  1. Peggy Petrzelka
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  2. Sandra Marquart-Pyatt
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Correspondence to Peggy Petrzelka.

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Petrzelka, P., Marquart-Pyatt, S. “With the Stroke of a Pen”: Designation of the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument and the Impact on Trust. Hum Ecol 41, 285–297 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-012-9544-x

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