Congratulations to Dr. Ryan Bergstrom whose paper, with Dr. Lisa Harrington, won first place in the 35th Applied Geography Conference‘s Student Papers Competition last week! The paper title and abstract are below.
SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT IN THE GREATER YELLOWSTONE ECOSYSTEM: A CASE STUDY OF JACKSON, WYOMING
To facilitate community objectives toward sustaining the natural environment, while simultaneously sustaining economic activity, it is imperative that the perceptions and experiences of local communities be documented, as well as the ways in which perceptions are prioritized and acted upon. This is particularly true where the natural environment is important to the lifestyles and economy of the community and region. Earlier studies reported on apparent priorities of two communities in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE), West Yellowstone and Red Lodge, Montana. The objective of this study was to determine how a third amenity-driven GYE community, with contrasting socio-economic conditions, Jackson, Wyoming, perceives sustainable community development and natural resource management. A content analysis of newspaper articles published between 2000 and 2010 was undertaken to meet study objectives. Findings suggest that perceptions and priorities differ between Jackson and other GYE communities. It is suggested that these variations are based on differing socio-economic conditions, proximity to Yellowstone National Park, and dependence on tourism-based industries.