BLM Mission It is the mission of the Bureau of Land Management to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. NLCS Mission Created in 2000 by the Secretary of the Interior, the National Landscape Conservation System (NLCS) brought into a single system of specially designated areas managed on a landscape level under the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) multiple-use mandate. Passage of the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009 (P.L. 111-11) provided a statutory basis for the NLCS. The NLCS contains national monuments, national conservation areas, wilderness, wilderness study areas, wild and scenic rivers, national scenic and historic trails, and the conservation lands of the California Desert. Many of the treasured landscapes within the NLCS are popular tourism destinations managed for their outstanding scientific, cultural, ecological, historical, and recreational resources. The long-term vision guiding the NLCS is to conserve, protect, and restore the Conservation System’s lands, natural, and cultural and historic resources, and water for future generations. Socioeconomic Baseline Report for the Resource Management Plans for the Red Cliffs and Beaver Dam Wash National Conservation Areas and Amendment to the St. George Field Office Resource Management Plan and Associated Environmental Impact Statement Prepared for United States Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management St. George Field Office May 2012 This page intentionally left blank. Socioeconomic Baseline Report Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................................... VII 1.0 OVERVIEW OF THE SOCIOECONOMIC STUDY AREA .......................................................................... 1-1 2.0 SOCIAL AND CULTURAL CONDITIONS .................................................................................................. 2-1 2.1 COMMUNITY SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................... 2-1 2.2 POPULATION GROWTH ................................................................................................................................. 2-1 2.3 DEMOGRAPHICS ......................................................................................................................................... 2-15 2.4 HOUSING .................................................................................................................................................... 2-17 2.5 QUALITY OF LIFE ....................................................................................................................................... 2-19 2.6 SOCIAL ORGANIZATION AND INSTITUTIONS ............................................................................................... 2-21 2.6.1 Government ..................................................................................................................................... 2-21 2.6.2 Occupational and Interest Groups .................................................................................................... 2-23 2.7 SOCIAL VALUES, ATTITUDES, AND BELIEFS ............................................................................................... 2-28 2.7.1 Habitat and Resource Conservation Stakeholders ........................................................................... 2-28 2.7.2 Motorized Recreation Stakeholders ................................................................................................. 2-29 2.7.3 Non-Motorized Recreation Stakeholders ......................................................................................... 2-30 2.7.4 Livestock Grazing Stakeholders ...................................................................................................... 2-30 2.7.5 Economic Development Stakeholders ............................................................................................. 2-31 2.8 ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ......................................................................................................................... 2-31 2.8.1 Definitions ....................................................................................................................................... 2-31 2.8.2 Screening Analysis .......................................................................................................................... 2-33 3.0 ECONOMIC CONDITIONS ........................................................................................................................... 3-1 3.1 EMPLOYMENT .............................................................................................................................................. 3-1 3.2 LABOR EARNINGS ........................................................................................................................................ 3-6 3.3 PERSONAL INCOME ...................................................................................................................................... 3-7 3.4 FIRMS ........................................................................................................................................................... 3-9 3.5 ECONOMIC BASE ........................................................................................................................................ 3-10 3.6 SPECIFIC ECONOMIC SECTORS ................................................................................................................... 3-12 3.6.1 Tourism ............................................................................................................................................ 3-12 3.7 PUBLIC FINANCE ........................................................................................................................................ 3-15 3.7.1 Government Revenues ..................................................................................................................... 3-15 3.8 GOVERNMENT EXPENDITURES ................................................................................................................... 3-18 3.8.1 State and Local Government Expenditures and Services ................................................................. 3-18 3.8.2 BLM Expenditures ........................................................................................................................... 3-18 4.0 BLM PUBLIC LAND USES AND VALUES ................................................................................................. 4-1 4.1 VEGETATIVE PRODUCTS .............................................................................................................................. 4-1 4.1.1 Beaver Dam Wash NCA .................................................................................................................... 4-2 4.1.2 Red Cliffs NCA ................................................................................................................................. 4-2 4.1.3 Balance of the Field Office ................................................................................................................ 4-2 4.2 LIVESTOCK GRAZING ................................................................................................................................... 4-2 4.2.1 Beaver Dam Wash NCA .................................................................................................................... 4-4 4.2.2 Red Cliffs NCA ................................................................................................................................. 4-5 4.2.3 Balance of the Field Office ................................................................................................................ 4-6 4.3 RECREATION ................................................................................................................................................ 4-6 4.3.1 Beaver Dam Wash NCA .................................................................................................................... 4-9 4.3.2 Red Cliffs NCA ............................................................................................................................... 4-10 4.3.3 Balance of the Field Office .............................................................................................................. 4-12 4.4 COMPREHENSIVE TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT ............................................................ 4-14 4.4.1 Beaver Dam Wash NCA .................................................................................................................. 4-15 4.4.2 Red Cliffs NCA ............................................................................................................................... 4-16 4.4.3 Balance of the Field Office .............................................................................................................. 4-16 St. George Field Office i Table of Contents Socioeconomic Baseline Report 4.4.4 Northern Transportation Route ........................................................................................................ 4-17 4.5 LANDS AND REALTY .................................................................................................................................. 4-17 4.5.1 Beaver Dam Wash NCA .................................................................................................................