Engagement, Consent & Community Wellbeing in Transitioning Coal Communities
Our project focuses on understanding the role of community wellbeing in consent-based energy infrastructure projects as Utah's coal country deals with uncertainty in the coal industry. Using interviews, surveys, and participatory and traditional focus groups, we will examine energy workforce families' and residents' experiences of changes to community wellbeing as coal production shifts in southeastern Utah. This includes exploring the levels of consent and concern communities express around siting and maintaining critical infrastructure for all types of energy sectors that may be a part of the region's future. Results will be used to inform future work on understanding fair and effective, consent-based engagement which integrates community wellbeing as an important aspect of future energy economies.
- Stacia Ryder - Principal Investigator
- Jessica Schad - Co-Principal Investigator
- Caitlin McLennan - Co-Principal Investigator
- Ashley Yaugher - Co-Principal Investigator
- Deseret Weeks - Co-Principal Investigator
- Alexandrea Sherman - Intern
Utahns’ Wellbeing and Mental Health
Many rural communities are highly dependent upon using their natural resources, both for extractive and non-extractive purposes. The ways in which many rural economies, communities, and individuals interact with the natural environment, however, are transitioning. Rural communities in the U.S., including Utah, are also facing interrelated challenges with regards to poor mental health and growing suicide rates. Community resilience refers to the ability of communities to use local and extralocal resources to thrive despite changing and uncertain circumstances. To develop the capabilities and collaborations necessary to build resilience in rural Utah communities to face these interrelated economic, environmental, and social problems, we have been collecting and analyzing data and resources to help address these issues of critical need to the state. The information we gather will be shared and developed with stakeholders including local public health and mental health officials, local and state policymakers, and USU Extension, and can be used to develop plans, programs, and policies to address the growing problems of poor mental health and suicide in Utah.
- Jessica Schad - Principal Investigator
- Kristen Koci - Co-Prinicipal Investigator
- Courtney Flint - Co-Principal Investigator
Publications and Presentations
- Koci, Kristen, Jessica D. Ulrich-Schad, Courtney Flint, Ashley Yaugher, Amanda McIntosh, Gabriela Murza, & Aaron Hunt. 2024. “Impacts of Coal Miners and Mental Health Event in Carbon County.” USU Extension Outcomes & Impacts Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.59620/2995-2220.1081
- https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/canri_publications/7/
- https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/canri_publications/5/
- Koci, Kristen, Courtney Flint, and Jessica D. Ulrich-Schad. 2023. “Utahns’ Wellbeing and Mental Health by Rural-Urban Location.” USU Extension. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/extension_curall/2368/
- Koci, Kristen, Courtney Flint, and Jessica D. Ulrich-Schad. 2023. “Utahns' Wellbeing and Mental Health.” USU Extension. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/extension_curall/2369/