Socio-Waterscapes of the Rocky Mountain West: How Inequality, Affluence, and Recreation Shape the Flow of Water

Socio-Waterscapes of the Rocky Mountain West: How Inequality, Affluence, and Recreation Shape the Flow of Water

w/SOAN Alum Leonard Henderson '16
Doctoral Student/Graduate Course Instructor
Environment and Community @ Utah State University

Join us for a talk by SOAN alum, Leonard Henderson '16, on how water allocation and management in the American West have played profound roles in shaping the social, economic, and hydrographic contours of the region. At the same time, as many small mountain towns have transitioned from natural resource extraction to elite recreation economies the role of water remains undertheorized in these communities. Human interactions with water have both shaped and been shaped by, increasing economic inequality and the proliferation of “rugged” leisure in the Rocky Mountain West. A closer examination of these socio-waterscapes offers an important perspective to both understand the transformation of the “New West” as well as socially and environmentally equitable paths toward reform.

Questions? soan@pugetsound.edu

Event co-sponsored by Dept. of Environmental Policy & Decision Making