Division of Outdoor Recreation looks to give communities funds, data and a blueprint to expand their trails and access with the help of new strategic document.

Not long ago the quickly growing city of Saratoga Springs was better known for its farms than suburbs. Now rows of new homes and apartments are sprouting up where irrigation systems once rested. But in the middle of a quickly developing part of the city,...

Although many locals are worried about the future, they are well-positioned to address the challenges they face, according to the 2023 We Will Park County report presented by the Park County Community Foundation. The foundation surveyed more than 850 peop...

Gateway communities face a host of challenges that tend to be invisible to shorter-term visitors. What happens in Vegas may, perhaps, stay in Vegas — but for families trying to live in Utah’s popular recreation communities like Springdale, Moab, and Park ...

I was thrilled to see Utah Gov. Spencer Cox’s recent announcement of the National Governors Association “Disagree Better” Initiative, which aims to help Americans move past polarization and engage in conflict in a more healthy way. I am grateful that some...

The pandemic created an increase in remote work opportunities leading to a rise in digital nomads and a compounding of Utah’s housing crisis. What changes can we expect to see now that workers are being called back to the office?

Environmental and natural resource issues are ecologically, politically, culturally, and emotionally complex.

At 6:45 a.m. on a recent powder day, the notorious “red snake” — the locals’ not-so-affectionate name for the winding line of vehicle taillights — formed at the base of Little Cottonwood Canyon in Utah, extending for miles down Wasatch Boulevard towards S...

In Aspen, Colorado, and other alpine communities, the future depends on making sure the weirdos and oddballs are still welcome.

Small and midsize rural communities had some of the biggest increases in home prices in the first two years of the pandemic, driven by out-of-town buyers.

Utah’s tourism industry can reduce its impact on communities if businesses work with cities, counties and land management agencies, a panel of industry experts said last week.

Last winter a ski-patrollers union in Park City, Utah, made headlines for its standoff against Vail Resorts over wages. The dust has since settled on negotiations, but the conversations they sparked about what ski-industry workers deserve may just be gett...

As remote jobs took hold during the COVID-19 pandemic, a flux of remote workers left big cities for rural towns creating so-called Zoom towns.

A research and capacity building initiative based at Utah State University seeks to help fast-growing tourist meccas in the West plan for smart growth.

Danya Rumore, a professor of planning at the University of Utah, could feel her hometown changing.

Somewhere between scrambling down a rocky drop-off on the side of the highway to a hidden slot canyon and taking a break under an enchanted grotto of mossy ferns, Ella Bagley stops and smiles.

Our guest for the hour today is Jordan Smith, Director of the Institute of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism at Utah State University.

The new world of remote jobs has small towns and cities exploding with growth as workers explore alternatives to big metropolitan areas. Is this good or bad?

An increasing number of people are moving to small towns in rural America to, in part, take advantage of cheaper housing. But some local residents and long-term renters are being forced out.

Wages are the disease while housing is the symptom This article is the fifth and final piece in an ongoing series during which the Reader has examined various aspects of the labor shortage affecting area employers.

Dr. Danya Rumore is a Research Assistant Professor in City & Metropolitan Planning and the Director of the Environmental Dispute Resolution Program in the Wallace Stegner Center at the University of Utah.

Los Angeles native Shanelle Sherlin always wanted to live close to nature in a place where, as a triathlete, she could run, bike and swim away from city noise.

It's no secret that Sandpoint and its surrounding area is a great place to live. The lake, the mountain, the wildlife, the people... all have been extolled in articles, YouTube videos, blog posts and advertisements all over the country.

Just as mining led to western boomtowns, the pandemic has led to the rise of "Zoom Towns." Even before lockdowns began, areas near world-class outdoor offerings sometimes called gateway communities, were struggling to accomodate an influx of people. As ru...

Kane Creek Road, a curving asphalt road nestled between the Colorado River and red rock cliffs, might not see much use were it not situated in Moab, Utah — a small town so inundated with visitors these days that City Manager Joel Linares says he’s never b...

GNAR Initiative Founder Danya Rumore was recently featured in Outdoor Allies.

In Jackson Hole, Wyoming, there’s a look old-timers exchange when a newcomer, decked out in brand new cowboy boots and blinged out jeans, walks in.

Since the coronavirus pandemic shuttered offices across the U.S., white-collar urbanites have been looking for a little more elbow room.

This report summarizes the key takeaways and resources that came from our boomtown webinar series. Over the five sessions, numerous ideas were shared between communities about how they're experiencing amenity migration and how they are trying to adapt to ...

Danya Remore from the GNAR Initiative joins Partnership president & CEO Chris Romer to discuss The GNAR Initiative, including what it is, what it’s trying to do, and the opportunities and challenges presented by amenity migration and remote workers...

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced governments worldwide to embrace a delicate balancing act — with an open economy on one side of the scale, public health on the other.

November 12, 2020: Gateway and Natural Amenity Region Initiative, or GNAR, with founder (and SHS grad) Danya Rumore.KRFY Panhandle Community Radio is a full-power, FM radio station that brings commercial-free radio to North Idaho.

On November 18, 2020, USU Research Landscapes featured David Anderson and Jake Powell of the Landscape Architecture & Environmental Planning department to discuss how communities can recognize, strengthen, and defend the key physical and social features t...

In part two of our episodes with Jake Powell, an environmental planner with USU’s Department of Landscape Architect and Environmental Planning, he describes how communities can build resilience on both an economical and social level.

ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST: Unburdened from the need to commute to a major metropolitan area, many urban professionals are deciding to leave cities altogether.

Fantastic and timely discussion with Dr. Danya Rumore, Director of the Wallace Stegner Center’s Environmental Dispute Resolution Program. Dr. Rumore discusses the need for collaborative efforts to resolve complicated problems and how to move toward a shar...

As remote working has boomed during COVID-19, the rise in the number of people working from home has prompted many to reconsider where they wish to live.

An influx of ‘COVID migrants’ has led to a swell of new residents in the Flathead Valley, as well as rampant speculation about an unprecedented population explosion. But how many people have really moved here?

A new paper published in the Journal of the American Planning Association shows that populations in these communities were already growing before COVID-19 hit...

"A lot of these communities feel like they're inventing the wheel for the first time." In this episode of Instead, Wyatt sits down with USU researcher Jake Powell. The two discuss the Gateway, and Natural Amenity Resources Initiative aimed to provide reso...

The Grand Targhee Resort has submitted an application to the USDA Forest Service to expand the operations of the resort in an effort to “improve the recreational experience and address shortcomings in their terrain offerings and operations in order to rem...

Trish Jennings watched customers dining 6 feet apart outside her Bit & Spur Restaurant and Saloon on an evening in mid-August, missing the usual gregarious chatter of outdoor adventures.

As the state keeps a close eye on the growth of the virus, places like Park City are seeing a different kind of growth, at least in part because of the impact the virus has had in cities out-of-state.

The Show Tourist Cities Like Sedona Struggle To Balance Growth, Affordable Housing By Steve Goldstein Published: Tuesday, September 22, 2020 - 1:08pm

Gateway communities like Moab are dealing with increasing pressures from population and tourism growth, which can mean uncomfortable changes – from a dearth in affordable housing to the perceived loss of community character.

Park City— As the pandemic prompts dramatic changes for millions of Americans, Park City, Utah has become one of the leading choices for affluent families seeking to relocate from cities in hopes of making the best of anxious times with a lifestyle withou...

Riding out the boom-and-bust tourism economy Fruita has grown to count on a booming outdoor recreation economy. Mike Bennett, the city manager of Fruita, Colorado, was camped out at 18 Road, a popular mountain-bike trailhead, when I called him on a Tuesda...

This ground-breaking article establishes western gateway communities as a type of community worthy of further study and provides a baseline for planning research in these places.

Jordan Smith, Jessica Schad, and Zach Miller presented at the first Research Landscapes event of the year.

CHM Government Services is working with Dr. Jordon Smith, the Director of the Utah State University’s Institute of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism. As part of our work with USU, we are learning from their shared insights from their Gateway & Natural Amen

Across the country, cities and towns are struggling to survive during the COVID-19 outbreak.

For all gateway communities, a return to normalcy depends on a return to tourism and related revenue. As an outdoor brand, we want to help gateway communities maintain the things that make them special places so they can again host exploration.

We all know that clean air and clean water are important resources to protect. Other resources we don’t think about are Natural sounds and natural skies.

Gateway communities throughout the Intermountain West are facing a number of unprecedented challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This webinar examined the impacts of COVID-19 to gateway community health and economies. Local, federal and state government leaders shared their experiences coordinating and responding to COVID-19 in gateway communities and public lands, and also explore...