Socioeconomic Issues for the Bear River Watershed Conservation Area Land Protection Plan.

摘要

The Bear River Watershed Conservation Area (BRWCA) is located in the Bear River Watershed, a vast basin covering fourteen counties across three states. Located in Wyoming, Utah, and Idaho, the watershed spans roughly 7,500 squares miles (mi2): 1,500 mi2 in Wyoming; 2,700 mi2 in Idaho; and 3,300 mi2 in Utah (Utah Division of Water Resources, 2004). Three National Wildlife Refuges are currently contained within the boundary of the BRWCA: the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge in Utah, the Bear Lake National Wildlife Refuge in Idaho, and the Cokeville Meadows National Wildlife Refuge in Wyoming. In 2010, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (the Service) conducted a Preliminary Project Proposal (PPP), and identified the BRWCA to have high value wildlife habitat. This finding initiated the Land Protection Planning (LPP) process, which is used by the Service to study land conservation opportunities including adding lands to the National Wildlife Refuge System (the Refuge System). The Service proposes to include part of the BRWCA in the Refuge System by acquiring up to 920,000 acres of conservation easements from willing landowners to maintain landscape integrity and habitat connectivity in the region. The analysis described in this report provides a profile of the social and economic conditions in the BRWCA and addresses social and economic questions and concerns raised during public involvement in the LPP process.