Success in the West
The genesis, birth, and evolution of the Central Wasatch Commission
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Friends of Confluence West –
Those of us who live in the American West know it's a peculiar place. Central to this peculiarity is how these lands are governed – heavy on the federal government's power, light on regional authority, and barely noticeable rights for tribes.
These questions – and the struggles around these questions – have been present for a long time. A current and especially fraught example is the lack of agreement on how the Colorado Basin should be governed.
We need the narratives of how regional and tribal authorities can realistically engage with federal directives. So, that's our story today – the genesis, birth, and evolution of the Central Wasatch Commission.
Some quick context for this Success in the West interview with Ralph Becker, the recently retired founding Executive Director of the Commission: Utah's Wasatch Front is a metropolitan area encompassing, among other municipalities, Provo, Ogden, and Salt Lake City. The region's total population is about 2.7 million. For many years it has been one of the fastest growing areas in the United States.
As with most places in the American West, land use, water supply, environmental protections, transportation planning, cultural values, economic development, and recreation have been historically governed by multiple siloed, local, and regional government agencies.
For the West,
Kimery
Success in the West: The Central Wasatch Commission
" Suppose we don't get a handle on what we want to achieve and accomplish for ourselves in these mountains. In that case, we're going to get run over by the federal government or by the state government kind of unilaterally."
- Ralph Becker
Welcome to our Success In the West interview. We're talking about creating and managing cross-sector successful regional governance with Ralph Becker, the recently retired founding executive director of the Central Wasatch Commission.
We're looking at the why and what of the Central Wasatch[i] Commission and getting Ralph's thoughts and recommendations on developing and managing complex, multi-jurisdictional regional governance in the American West.
To get us started, here's some quick background: Utah's Wasatch Front is a metropolitan area encompassing, among other municipalities, Provo, Ogden, and Salt Lake City. The region's total population is about 2.7 million. For a number of years now it has been one of the fastest growing areas in the United States.
As with most places in the American West, land use, water supply, environmental protections, transportation planning, cultural values, economic development, and recreation have been historically governed by multiple siloed, local, and regional government agencies. READ MORE
[i] "Wasatch" in the Uto-Aztecan language means "mountain pass" or "low pass over high range."