An Exploratory Analysis of Rock Climber Preferences for Bears Ears National Monument Designation and Boundaries

Authors

  • David Carter University of Utah
  • Mandy Schenkemeyer University of Utah

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18666/JOREL-2025-12376

Keywords:

public lands, land use conflicts, land management preferences, rock climbers, Bears Ears National Monument

Abstract

Public lands designation and boundary decisions have long engendered conflict for relevant political actors, management agencies, stakeholders, and user groups. This paper undertakes an exploratory analysis of rock climbers’ preferences toward monument designation of Utah’s Bears Ears region, as a case with substantial Indigenous significance, notable politicization, and world-renowned recreational opportunities. Drawing on a survey of Indian Creek rock climbers conducted in collaboration with a national climbing advocacy organization, we examine how cultural resource valuation, partisan political affiliation, tolerance for recreation management constraints, and place dependence are associated with climbers’ monument designation and boundary preferences. Although all factors seemed to matter to some degree, cultural resource valuation was the only factor that consistently differentiated designation/boundary preferences, highlighting the relevance of the Indigenous origins of monument advocacy and the richness of the area’s cultural resources in shaping climbers’ preferences in the Bears Ears case.

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Published

2025-03-03

Issue

Vol. 17 No. 3 (2025)

Section

Regular Papers

License

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