The GNAR Initiative exists to help gateway communities, their regions, and the public lands around them, thrive and preserve the things that make them special – across Utah, and the Intermountain West. Our goal is to help community leaders and land managers prepare and respond to the numerous challenges facing them by leveraging our three pillars: research, education, and capacity building.
Check out our GNAR Network or Toolkit Pages for more info.
Small cities and towns outside of significant natural amenities such as national parks, public lands, ski areas, and scenic rivers throughout the western United States are becoming increasingly popular places to visit and live. As a result, many of these "gateway" and natural amenity region ( or GNAR) communities grapple with “big city” issues, including severe congestion, lack of affordable workforce housing, and concerns about sprawl.
Across the United States, people are attracted to communities in close proximity to desirable natural features such as mountains, lakes, and public lands for outdoor recreation, aesthetics, or other lifestyle purposes. The process of people migrating to c...
Jake Carter is only 27, yet he already owns a home in Breckenridge, Colorado, where the average listing price is $1.85 million. His two-bedroom condo is surrounded by trees, just half a mile from the ski town’s world-famous slopes. But Carter isn’t a mill...
Over 3 million acres of public land could be sold in the next five years, after Senate Republicans on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee reintroduced land sales into the party’s major spending bill. Released on Wednesday night, the megabill text
In our first episode we talk to a few people who study the recreation industry and how it intersects with rural communities. We start out in Montezuma County, Colorado, Ilana’s home in Southwest Colorado and also visit Monte Vista, Colorado, another small...
