In August of 2012, the Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) sent a letter to President Barack Obama asking him to designate the Greater Canyonlands National Monument (GCNM). The proposed 1.4 million acre national monument would surround the already present 337,570 acre Canyonlands National Park, and would include public lands/waterways from five Utah counties. The OIA’s goal for the GCNM is to preserve the landscape for quality outdoor recreation by decreasing the amount of off-highway vehicle use and to eliminate the possibility of oil/gas drilling and mining. Given the proposal highlights outdoor recreation use benefits as the main catalyst for justification of additional conservation/protection of lands surrounding Canyonlands National Park, this study surveyed recreationists in the Indian Creek Corridor—an area within the boundaries of the proposed GCNM—to explore their attitudes toward the GCNM and the management of the area. This study examined how environmental orientation, place dependence, place identity, residential proximity, and recreational activity type related to attitudes toward the GCNM. Environmental orientation and residential proximity were both good predictors of attitudes toward the GCNM and the management of the Greater Canyonlands area. More biocentric-oriented people, and people who lived farther away from the Greater Canyonlands area, were more likely to have favorable attitudes toward the GCNM and were more opposed to land uses such as mining and energy development. In addition, visitors were largely “unsure” if the GCNM should be designated. Visitors felt most strongly that if the GCNM is going to be designated, the process of designation, the land that would be included, and management of the GCNM should be agreed upon by stakeholders before the monument is designated. This suggests a quick designation via public proclamation under the Antiquities Act of 1906 could largely exacerbate the already present conflict over public land management in the region, which would create an even more difficult environment for federal land managers.

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A freshwater mussel survey was conducted in Indian Creek, Tazewell County, Virginia, during 1996 and 1997. Fifteen species were identified, including the federally endangered <i>Epioblasma florentina walkeri<i>, <i>Villosa perpurpurea</i>, and <i>Quadrula cylindrica strigillata</i>. Population assessments and fish host identifications were completed for the tan riffleshell and purple bean populations. Host fish for <i>E. f. walkeri</i> were limited to the banded and mottled sculpin, greenside darter, redline darter, fantail darter, and snubnose darter. Fish hosts identified for <i>V. perpurpurea</i> also were the banded and mottled sculpin, greenside darter, and redline darter. Size class structure of the tan riffleshell population ranged from 19.9 to 53.3 mm, with the population estimated at nearly 700 individuals with a density of 0.015/m². Size class structure of the purple bean population ranged from 22.9 to 66.7 mm, with the population estimated at only 70 individuals with a density of 0.002/m². Host fish also were identified for <i>Dromus dromas</i> and <i>Lemiox rimosus</i>. The fantail darter was identified as a host for <i>D. dromas</i>, with the snubnose darter serving as a host for <i>L. rimosus</i>. Additional percids were implicated as hosts for both mussel species. A molecular genetic key for identifying host fishes of the upper Clinch River also was constructed. The key was constructed through the analysis of restriction fragment length polymorphisms from amplified regions of mussel DNA. Thirty-six unionid species were incorporated into the key. No host fishes were identified due to an unsolved problem with amplifying DNA from glochidia collected from wild fish. / Master of Science