Loving it to death: land use conflict, outdoor recreation and the contradictions of wilderness in Southeast Utah, USA. Issue 3 (3rd July 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Baker, Zeke; Fick, Stephen E.
• Is Part Of: Environmental sociology. Volume 8:Issue 3(2022)
• Page Start: 345
• Page End: 361
• Publication Date: 2022-07-03
• Subjects: Land management -- outdoor recreation -- valuation -- land use conflict -- Utah -- public lands -- Bears Ears National Monument; Environmental sociology -- Periodicals; 363.7
• DOI: 10.1080/23251042.2022.2042889
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2325-1042

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Different cultural valuations of landscapes often underlie land use conflict. How do place-based experiences inform cultural values regarding landscapes? Further, how do such values shape conflicts over land use and land management? This paper draws from ethnographic fieldwork and interviews with recreational land users (primarily rock climbers), land managers, ranchers, and others in the Indian Creek area of Bears Ears National Monument in Southeast Utah to address these questions. The findings presented center on the following paradox: recreational users value the landscape as a vestige of wilderness values while simultaneously experiencing and contributing to socio-ecological dynamics that either impinge upon or unravel the basis of these values. We argue that discourses of sacredness, stewardship, authenticity, and 'local ethics' relieve some friction, but nonetheless build a common narrative that the landscape is being 'loved to death.' Two conclusions follow. First, land use conflicts can be generally understood as having cultural roots developed through embodied engagement with landscapes. Second, as land managers regulate outdoor recreation in multi-use settings, policies should engage the contradictory social pressures (namely wilderness ethics vs. high-impact consumption) that define outdoor recreation culture.