Nineteenth century pioneers who struggled to carve out permanent homes in the American West would be astounded by the sprawl of today’s western cities. Yet the impact of those early sojourners, along with the government’s response to their migration patterns, still guides many of today’s land management decisions, according to Utah State University range science students.

Competing in the Rangeland Cup student poster competition at the 62nd annual Society for Range Management meeting held Feb. 8-12 in Albuquerque, N.M., Aggie team members Casey Addy, Garth Nelson and Derek Trauntvein joined students from universities throughout North America in tackling a formidable question posed last fall by the society. It read in part, “Interpret the settlement pattern of the North American West and how it resulted in today’s land ownership patterns. Select a specific challenge and provide suggested action on how to deal with the challenge.”

 

The USU team, which placed third in the competition, chose to focus on land use planning as their selected challenge. With faculty mentor Chris Call in the Department of Wildland Resources, the students began working on their research poster, “‘Wicked’ Problems in the Wild West,” last October.

 

“We could identify many challenges — invasive weeds, wildland fires, habitat fragmentation, the urban/wildland interface, water — but, ultimately, we decided on land use planning,” says Addy, a senior conservation and restoration ecology major. “We started with research on legislation that encouraged western settlement, including the 1862 Homestead Act and Railroad Act.”

 

As western settlement increased, the U.S. government enacted laws to protect overused natural resources including the establishment of federal lands and the national park system.

 

“These laws resulted in a large public and private domain held by many diverse stakeholders,” says Nelson, a senior rangeland resources major. “Today, with the varied values and perspectives of people involved in land use decision-making, frequent conflicts of opinion occur.”

 

The team refers to these conflicts as “wicked” problems; that is, conflicts that are complex and difficult to resolve because of contradictory and shifting requirements.

 

“To pursue our challenge, we conducted case studies on two Utah counties, Washington and Box Elder,” Nelson says. “Both were settled in a similar manner and face many of the same challenges. Yet each has unique natural resources issues.”

 

While each area was settled for agricultural production in the mid-19th century, Box Elder experienced early, rapid growth with the completion of the transcontinental railroad. Washington County’s growth was limited until the establishment of Zion, Bryce Canyon and Grand Canyon National Parks. Today, Box Elder, with 45 percent of its land in private hands, maintains a population of about 48,000 residents. In contrast, just 17 percent of Washington County, with a burgeoning population of more than 133,000, is privately owned.

 

Box Elder, the students note, has relied on grassroots initiatives to tackle many of its land use issues. Washington County, with its explosive growth, has turned to legislation. Case in point is the Washington County Land Bill, known formally as the Washington County Growth and Conservation of Act of 2008, which has attempted to resolve longstanding land management conflicts.

 

The students believe Box Elder’s approach will lead to lasting solutions. Stakeholders need to transcend individual interests, consider the needs of the divided landscape as a whole ecosystem and find common ground, they say.

 

Other students representing USU at the meeting included Jacie Fasselin, who placed third in the extemporaneous speaking contest. Aggies Hailey Crozier, Jamin Johanson and Shannon Moore presented research papers in the undergraduate professional paper session.

 

The Aggie plant identification team, which included Johanson, Nelson and Lowell Gardner, placed sixth in competition. USU’s undergraduate range management exam team placed eighth. Team members were Trauntvein, Johanson, Levi Bennington, Janessa Chew, Jenny Christiansen, Cari Forsgren, Laura Hansen, Chris Jorgensen, Jordan Linnell, Tamra Luke and Makeda Trujillo.

 

Johanson earned a fourth place plaque for his combined individual scores in plant identification and the undergraduate range management exam.

 

Meeting participants praise their faculty mentors for their help in preparing for competition and raising the funds to travel to Albuquerque.

 

 

Contact: Chris Call, (435) 797-2477, chris.call@usu.edu
Writer: Mary-Ann Muffoletto, (435) 797-3517, maryann.muffoletto@usu.edu

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