Energy and other forms of development can have significant effects on ranching and farming communities. Jobes (1987) characterizes these communities as small, isolated, stable, interdependent, and independent of outsiders, and argues that energy development can devastate such communities because the informal institutions that hold them together (for example, community meetings) are disrupted and replaced by formal institutions. Many people may begin to feel like outsiders in their own communities as the population grows and changes rapidly. This causes some people to feel less satisfaction with their lives and move away. The lack of current research on how energy development affects ranching communities provides an opportunity for further study. This WLCI study evaluates perceptions about these and other issues facing ranchers to get a more complete picture of how ranchers perceive the effects of energy development.
Through an agreement between the WDA and the USGS, a study evaluating ranchers’ perceptions of energy development has been initiated. This entails a WDA survey with the USGS serving as consultant in survey design and construction based on the needs and issues provided by the WDA. Following the standard survey methodology set forth by Salant and Dillman (1994), surveys were mailed to randomly selected ranchers operating in counties encompassed by the WLCI area (Lincoln, Sublette, Uinta, Sweetwater, and Carbon Counties) and the portion of Fremont County that lies within the WLCI boundary.
Jobes, P.C., 1987, The disintegration of gemeinschaft social structure from energy development -- Observations from ranch communities in the Western United States: Journal of Rural Studies, v. 3, no. 3, p. 219-229.
Salant, P., and Dillman, D.A., 1994, How to conduct your own survey: New York, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 232 p.
Products Completed in FY2011
- Lyon, K., and Montag, J.M, 2012, in review, Ranching community perceptions toward energy development in Southwest Wyoming: U.S. Geological Survey, Open-File Report.
Products Completed in FY2010
- Montag, J.M., and Lyon, K., 2010, Rancher perspectives towards energy development in Southwest Wyoming, presented at the International Symposium of Society and Resource Management, Corpus Christi, Tex., June 2010: University Park, Pa., International Association for Society and Natural Resources [presented by J.M. Montag].
Products Completed in FY2009
- Montag, J.M., and Caudill, J., 2009, Ranching community perceptions toward energy development, presented at WLCI Science Workshop, May 2009, Laramie, Wyo.
