A funny thing happened in rural southern Utah after President Clinton designated the 1.7 million-acre Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in 1996. Utah politicians howled, in chorus with coal, oil and gas interests, that the monument would spell economic doom for the region. But not so, as it turns out.
Instead, the communities in this rugged landscape thrived. They’ve grown sustainable economies and rejected the boom-and-bust fossil fuel industries that have long pillaged the West’s fragile landscapes.
Between 2001 and 2015, the population in the two counties bordering Grand Staircase grew by 13 percent, jobs increased 24 percent and real personal income grew 32 percent.