Utahns Support State Spending for Outdoor Recreation

Utah is known as an outdoor recreation destination, with stunning landscapes ranging from high alpine mountains to red-rock deserts. In recent years, Utah’s Legislature has shown a commitment to investing in outdoor recreation. In 2017, the Legislature approved a 0.32% statewide lodging tax to fund Utah’s Outdoor Recreation Grant Program1 and in 2022 approved a diversion of 1% of all sales taxes in the state to go to funding outdoor recreation infrastructure projects2

Environmental Insights from a Utah Pilot Study on Well-being

This project focuses on the importance of the natural environment to the well-being of those surveyed during a 2018 pilot study. The pilot study marked the beginning of the Utah Well-being Project, a 5-year study to assess well-being across Utah communities. The survey asked participants questions about their overall well-being and their well-being in relation to twelve commonly articulated “domains”, including those that are listed in Figures 1 and 2

Natural History Field Guide: Common Ground Outdoor Adventures

Common Ground Outdoor Adventures (Common Ground) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Logan, Utah. Americorps VISTA volunteer Kate Stephens initially founded Common Ground in 1993 to enhance adaptive recreational opportunities for individuals with physical disabilities in the Cache Valley community. The organization has grown since that time and is now a fully-staffed entity which annually serves 3,600 individuals. It works with individuals with a variety of disabilities, including cognitive, physical, and emotional. Considering that there are systematic and social barriers to individuals with disabilities participating in outdoor recreation activities, the role that Common Ground plays to provide opportunities to these individuals is paramount. Case studies have shown that outdoor recreation benefits spirituality, mental restoration, personal development, physical health, and well-being for people with and without disabilities. Staff at Common Ground would like to integrate more environmental education into their outings to foster greater understanding of the natural world among participants and provide non-physical leadership opportunities for their volunteers and participants with physical disabilities. However, high turnover of staff and volunteers makes this difficult. In order to support Common Ground in implementation of natural history environmental education in its programming, a Natural History Field Guide was created between Spring 2018 and Spring 2019. Methods used to create the Guide include review of existing guidebooks, online resources, Utah State University Extension materials, and consultation with local experts. The Guide is 161 pages long and includes information about the area\u27s geology, plants, wildlife, wetlands, climate, and local hikes. The purpose of the Guide is to promote thoughtful inquiry into features of the environment and enhance participant engagement. It has already shown promise for improving participant experience and promoting thoughtful discussion on outings

An Overview of State Funding for Outdoor Recreation and Tourism in Utah

The state of Utah supports outdoor recreation and tourism through a variety of legislative appropriations, revenue generating mechanisms, taxes, and federal programs that are administered by the state. This review provides an overview of the various programs and funding mechanisms that currently exist within Utah, describes how and to what extent they are funded, outlines how they support outdoor recreation and tourism, and highlights opportunities where the state can strategically capitalize on existing programs

Outdoor Recreation Across the Western United States: A Comparative Analysis Focused on State Agencies, Policies, Programs, and Resources

Outdoor recreation is an invaluable part of the Western lifestyle. State governments in the contiguous western U.S. (Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming) are increasing investment in outdoor recreation within their state borders to ensure continued and expanded access to outdoor recreation opportunities and to enhance the outdoor recreation economy in their states. This report provides an objective inventory and comparison of how states across the Western U.S. fund, manage, and support outdoor recreation. Based on findings across the states, we provide recommendations tailored to state legislatures and state government entities regarding how outdoor recreation management may be improved and how additional funding could be generated to support outdoor recreation opportunities. Standard across the western states are the existence of state park agencies, tourism offices, offhighway vehicle programs, and boating programs. Beginning in 2013, Utah opened the first Office of Outdoor Recreation in the nation. Today, seven of the eleven western states have followed Utah’s lead and opened similar offices. However, there appears to be little coordination and collaboration across state entities that manage or support outdoor recreation. Statutory bodies, like Utah’s Outdoor Adventure Commission, are a step in the right direction to provide formal mechanisms for collaboration and ensure efficient use of state resources. Research outside of the context of outdoor recreation suggests these statutory bodies are most successful when they have a formal mandate, discretionary authority to guide certain aspects of their member agencies’ actions, and control over state resources that benefit their member agencies. Collaboration between state entities and federal land management agencies similarly appears to be uncommon, occurring in an ad-hoc manner. Integrating federal agency leadership into statutory bodies that provide formal mechanisms for collaboration would help to align state-led policy and state-funded projects with federal policy and project priorities. Federal partners can serve in ex-officio and non-voting capacities on state commissions to serve this purpose. Previous research suggests building formal mechanisms for collaboration between state entities and federal land management agencies can help align state and federal management priorities in outdoor recreation management. There are notable differences in the manner by which state governments fund outdoor recreation efforts. If there is an additional need for funding for specific programs, states may consider adding userspecific fees. For example, RV registration fees fund a Recreation Vehicle fund in Idaho to develop RV facilities in the state. Similarly, OHV registration and/or sticker fees support off-highway vehicle grants in each of the western states. Other avenues of increasing revenue for state programs include: charging differential entrance fees to state parks for non-residents (Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming), diverting sales tax to support outdoor recreation infrastructure grant programs (Utah), and diverting lottery funds to support outdoor recreation grant programs (Oregon and Washington). The policy and administrative recommendations above are only a few that have broad applicability across the West. There are numerous other recommendations focused on specific state programs and policies throughout the report. While this report is by no means a comprehensive inventory of how the western states fund, manage, and support outdoor recreation, it provides a solid starting point for state governments and legislatures to compare outdoor recreation management in their state with that of other western states and spark discussion of ideas to improve outdoor recreation opportunities

Insights Into the Characteristics of Outdoor Recreationists in Utah From a Statewide Survey

Understanding the characteristics and preferences of outdoor recreationists in Utah can inform the administrative, funding, and management decisions of the many entities who provide outdoor recreation opportunities within the state. There is currently a lack of data on characteristics, preferences, and opinions of the state’s outdoor recreating public. As one component of the analysis supporting the development of the state’s outdoor recreation strategic plan, we launched a short online survey to begin to address this need. The survey was administered in spring of 2023 to an online panel of individuals who indicated that they are current residents of Utah and had participated in outdoor recreation within Utah during the previous 12-months. The data from the survey provide a cursory look into the demographic characteristics of outdoor recreationists in Utah and their perceptions of different threats to the future of outdoor recreation, the importance and adequacy of different types of outdoor recreation infrastructure, and the importance of different funding priorities

Primary battery design and safety guidelines handbook

This handbook provides engineers and safety personnel with guidelines for the safe design or selection and use of primary batteries in spaceflight programs. Types of primary batteries described are silver oxide zinc alkaline, carbon-zinc, zinc-air alkaline, manganese dioxide-zionc alkaline, mercuric oxide-zinc alkaline, and lithium anode cells. Along with typical applications, the discussions of the individual battery types include electrochemistry, construction, capacities and configurations, and appropriate safety measures. A chapter on general battery safety covers hazard sources and controls applicable to all battery types. Guidelines are given for qualification and acceptance testing that should precede space applications. Permissible failure levels for NASA applications are discussed

Collaborative Development of Utah\u27s Outdoor Recreation Strategic Plan: Process and Findings From 14 Regional Workshops

Outdoor recreation within Utah is managed and provided through a patchwork of federal and state agencies as well as county and municipal governments. Each of these entities manages outdoor recreation following different mandates and internal objectives. Rarely has there been an opportunity for representatives from federal, state, county, and local governments to sit down, discuss the long-standing and emerging challenges they face, and collectively develop ideas about how to work towards less-disparate and more aligned outdoor recreation management systems. In late 2022 and early 2023, we convened hundreds of land managers, outdoor recreation and tourism professionals, and elected officials across 14 workshops to do just that. The goals of the workshops were to: 1) facilitate a discussion about the threats to, and opportunities for, outdoor recreation within different regions of the state; and 2) use the identified threats and opportunities to solicit input on region-specific outdoor recreation policy, program, and project needs. Information gather through the workshop process was also used to identify outdoor recreation policy, program, and project needs common throughout the state. The common needs identified in the regional workshops directly informed the development of the objectives of Utah\u27s Outdoor Recreation Strategic Plan - a guiding document intended to improve outdoor recreation opportunities and support the alignment of policy and management actions across the many outdoor recreation providers within the state. The purpose of this report is to document the collaborative process for engaging stakeholders in the development of the objectives of Utah\u27s Outdoor Recreation Strategic Plan and to detail the findings generated from the process

The rise of linear borders in world politics

This article argues that the dominance of precise, linear borders as an ideal in the demarcation of territory is an outcome of a relatively recent and ongoing historical process, and that this process has had important effects on international politics since circa 1900. Existing accounts of the origins of territorial sovereignty are in wide disagreement largely because they fail to specify the relationship between territory and borders, often conflating the two concepts. I outline a history of the linearization of borders which is separate from that of territorial sovereignty, having a very different timeline and featuring different actors, and offer an explanation for the dominance of this universalizing system of managing and demarcating space, based on the concept of rationalization. Finally I describe two broad ways in which linearizing borders has affected international politics, by making space divisible in new ways, and underpinning hierarchies by altering the distribution of geographical knowledge resources

Dormancy Break of Alkali Bulrush Seeds: Effect of Source Population and Length of Cold Stratification

Great Salt Lake wetlands provide a number of invaluable ecosystem services, including water filtration and migratory bird habitat. Recent invasions of Phragmites australis have greatly reduced the cover of native wetland bulrush species, including alkali bulrush. Alkali bulrush is a critical wetland plant which provides valuable nesting habitat and nutritious seeds for migratory birds. Restoration efforts which aim to remove Phragmites and reseed wetlands with native species have proved unsuccessful due to low germination rates of bulrush seed, likely because the seeds are physiologically dormant. In order to break dormancy, seeds must be cold stratified in moist conditions, simulating wintertime. There is still much uncertainty in the scientific community concerning the length of cold stratification that is most effective at breaking seed dormancy, and whether the effect of cold stratification varies among source populations. Due to different evolutionary histories and site conditions, seeds sourced from different populations are biologically different and may vary in their germination response to cold stratification. This research project examines the effect of various lengths of cold stratification on the germination rates of alkali bulrush seeds collected in Fall of 2015 and 2016 from Sterling Wildlife Management Area, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Ogden Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, and Salt Creek Waterfowl Management Area. The project results may provide evidence for the most effective length of cold stratification and the genetic differences in alkali bulrush between various source populations. In my presentation I will address the significance of this research, the results thus far, and how this data can be used effectively for other research projects and to aid land managers in restoration efforts