IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v11y2019i5p1459-d212418.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Embedded in Nature: Challenges to Sustainability in Communities of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

Author

Listed:
  • Ryan D. Bergstrom

    (Program in Geography, University of Minnesota Duluth, Duluth, MN 55812, USA)

  • Lisa M.B. Harrington

    (Department of Geography, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA)

Abstract

Solutions to sustainability transitions tend to be applicable for specific regions but not the whole of society. Limitations on what may be sustained also exist, and preferences will vary among people in different places. Because of these differences, there is a need for better understanding of the perceptions and experiences of local community members and the challenges they face in the transition toward sustainability to promote realistic and effective decision-making. As a region with significant natural resource protections, the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem has been known to researchers for decades as an ideal location to study human-environment interactions. The objective of this study was to determine the challenges to sustainable community development and natural resource management identified by residents of communities surrounding Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. Thirty-two key informant interviews were conducted with decision-makers, with a focus on the communities of Red Lodge and West Yellowstone, Montana, and Jackson, Wyoming. Findings suggest that primary challenges include the seasonality of the tourist industry, disparities between agricultural and tourism-dependent priorities, and the implementation of stated sustainability goals. Challenges differ based on communities’ socio-economic conditions, dependence on tourism and recreation-based industries, and the influence of local and extra-local institutions.

Suggested Citation

  • Ryan D. Bergstrom & Lisa M.B. Harrington, 2019. "Embedded in Nature: Challenges to Sustainability in Communities of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-20, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:5:p:1459-:d:212418
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/5/1459/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/5/1459/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Keith Storey, 2010. "Fly-in/Fly-out: Implications for Community Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 2(5), pages 1-21, April.
    2. Hua Qin & Courtney G. Flint, 2017. "Changing Community Variations in Perceptions and Activeness in Response to the Spruce Bark Beetle Outbreak in Alaska," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-23, January.
    3. Meike Levin-Keitel & Tanja Mölders & Frank Othengrafen & Jens Ibendorf, 2018. "Sustainability Transitions and the Spatial Interface: Developing Conceptual Perspectives," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-15, June.
    4. Edith Callaghan & John Colton, 2008. "Building sustainable & resilient communities: a balancing of community capital," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 10(6), pages 931-942, December.
    5. Efrat Eizenberg & Yosef Jabareen, 2017. "Social Sustainability: A New Conceptual Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-16, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Hjerpe, Evan & Armatas, Christopher A. & Haefele, Michelle, 2022. "Amenity-based development and protected areas in the American West," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    2. Aysan, Ahmet Faruk & Bakkar, Yassine & Ul-Durar, Shajara & Kayani, Umar Nawaz, 2023. "Natural resources governance and conflicts: Retrospective analysis," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(PA).
    3. Krzysztof Widawski & Piotr Oleśniewicz & Agnieszka Rozenkiewicz & Anna Zaręba & Soňa Jandová, 2020. "Protected Areas: Geotourist Attractiveness for Weekend Tourists Based on the Example of Gorczański National Park in Poland," Resources, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-28, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Tapio Riepponen & Mikko Moilanen & Jaakko Simonen, 2023. "Themes of resilience in the economics literature: A topic modeling approach," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(2), pages 326-356, April.
    2. Jolita Vveinhardt & Vilija Bite Fominiene & Regina Andriukaitiene, 2019. "“Omerta” in Organized Sport: Bullying and Harassment as Determinants of Threats of Social Sustainability at the Individual Level," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-31, April.
    3. Doug Lionais & Christina Murray & Chloe Donatelli, 2020. "Dependence on Interprovincial Migrant Labour in Atlantic Canadian Communities: The Role of the Alberta Economy," Societies, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-15, January.
    4. Akram Hatami & Jan Hermes & Anne Keränen & Pauliina Ulkuniemi, 2023. "Creating Social Sustainability Through Distributing Leadership and Co-Responsibility in Corporate Volunteering," South Asian Journal of Business and Management Cases, , vol. 12(1), pages 81-96, April.
    5. Agnieszka Wojewódzka-Wiewiórska & Anna Kłoczko-Gajewska & Piotr Sulewski, 2019. "Between the Social and Economic Dimensions of Sustainability in Rural Areas—In Search of Farmers’ Quality of Life," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-26, December.
    6. Huilian Han & Hui Li, 2020. "Coupling Coordination Evaluation between Population and Land Urbanization in Ha-Chang Urban Agglomeration," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-23, January.
    7. Jubril Olakitan Atanda & Ayşe Öztürk, 2020. "Social criteria of sustainable development in relation to green building assessment tools," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 22(1), pages 61-87, January.
    8. Maciej Piekarski & Łukasz Bajda & Ewelina Gotkowska, 2021. "Transformation of Socialist Realistic Residential Architecture into a Contemporary Sustainable Housing Habitat—General Approach and the Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-29, December.
    9. Lea Primožič & Andreja Kutnar, 2022. "Sustainability Communication in Global Consumer Brands," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-16, October.
    10. Tasneem Alsaati & Samir El-Nakla & Darin El-Nakla, 2020. "Level of Sustainability Awareness among University Students in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-15, April.
    11. Pietro Previtali & Eugenio Salvati, 2021. "Area Social Plans and Local Governance of Interorganizational Collaborations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-16, January.
    12. Ming Tang & Huchang Liao & Zhengjun Wan & Enrique Herrera-Viedma & Marc A. Rosen, 2018. "Ten Years of Sustainability (2009 to 2018): A Bibliometric Overview," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-21, May.
    13. Robin Hogrefe & Sabine Bohnet-Joschko, 2023. "The Social Dimension of Corporate Sustainability: Review of an Evolving Research Field," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-22, February.
    14. Leena Suopajärvi & Thomas Ejdemo & Elena Klyuchnikova & Elena Korchak & Vigdis Nygaard & Gregory A. Poelzer, 2017. "Social impacts of the “glocal” mining business: case studies from Northern Europe," Mineral Economics, Springer;Raw Materials Group (RMG);Luleå University of Technology, vol. 30(1), pages 31-39, April.
    15. Zehua Wang & Fachao Liang & Sheng-Hau Lin, 2023. "Can socially sustainable development be achieved through homestead withdrawal? A hybrid multiple-attributes decision analysis," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-18, December.
    16. Haslam McKenzie, Fiona M. & Hoath, Aileen, 2014. "The socio-economic impact of mine industry commuting labour force on source communities," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 45-52.
    17. Çağla Beyaz & Çilen Erçin, 2023. "Evaluation of Modern Architecture Criteria in the Context of Sustainability and Architectural Approach; Modern Period in North Nicosia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-48, June.
    18. Donghyun Kim & Up Lim, 2016. "Urban Resilience in Climate Change Adaptation: A Conceptual Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(4), pages 1-17, April.
    19. Dorn, Franziska & Maxand, Simone & Kneib, Thomas, 2024. "The nonlinear dependence of income inequality and carbon emissions: Potentials for a sustainable future," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 216(C).
    20. Fernando Caixeta & André M. Carvalho & Pedro Saraiva & Fausto Freire, 2022. "Sustainability-Focused Excellence: A Novel Model Integrating the Water–Energy–Food Nexus for Agro-Industrial Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-20, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:5:p:1459-:d:212418. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.