Human-powered recreation is exploding on public lands throughout the west, with Southern Utah as the poster child for unsustainable growth and associated impacts to resources and user experiences. These problems are compounded by under-staffed and under-resourced federal land management agencies like the Bureau of Land Management.

Join Professor of Recreation Resources Management Dr.Christopher Monz and SUWA Wildlands Director Neal Clark to learn about the impacts of human-powered recreation in Southern Utah, and how implementing more proactive land management strategies from the Bureau of Land Management will protect public lands, wildlife and wild places-- all while providing a spectrum of high-quality, meaningful experiences for a diverse recreating public.  

About Dr. Christopher Monz:

Dr. Christopher Monz, Professor of Recreation Resources Management in the Department of Environment and Society at Utah State University, currently focuses his professional study in recreation ecology. He's conducted over 30 years of research on national parks and other protected areas worldwide, and is the primary author of this new report, prepared for SUWA, titled Outdoor Recreation and Ecological Disturbance. 

Resources:

Full Report: Outdoor Recreation and Ecological Disturbance, A Review of Research and Implications for Management of the Colorado Plateau Province by Dr. Christopher Monz

Sign the petition: ask the Utah Bureau of Land Management to create a working group for non-motorized recreation and visitation

SUWA: Recreation Management on the Colorado Plateau

SUWA Recreation Letter to BLM

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Theme music is by Haley Noel Austin, with interlude music by Larry Pattis.

Dave Pacheco is the host of Wild Utah.

Post studio production and editing is by Laura Borichevsky.

A transcript of this episode can be found here.