During the summer of 2025, Emory Schwieger interned with the Central Wasatch Commission and produced a thesis examining federal designation options for Utah’s Central Wasatch Mountains. Her research evaluated the Central Wasatch National Conservation and Recreation Area (CWNCRA) proposal by comparing it to existing federal land management models. The thesis reviewed each model’s management structure, policy goals, and relevance to the Central Wasatch.
These models included several federal land designations: National Conservation Areas (NCAs), National Recreation Areas (NRAs), and Wilderness designations. Historically, these designations have been used around reservoirs and near urban centers, reflecting both the importance of tourism and the pressures that recreation places on protected lands.
While Wilderness designations are the most restrictive of the three, NRAs and NCAs offer a more flexible and applicable approach for managing the Central Wasatch. NRAs are typically managed by the National Park Service (NPS), the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), or the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). NCAs, by contrast, are managed solely by the BLM. Although both models provide options for land protection, neither was designed to address the full range of challenges in the Central Wasatch, including recreation demand, watershed management, transportation needs, and ecosystem health.
Another key difference among these designations is funding. NCAs do not receive dedicated funding within the BLM, so they depend on annual congressional appropriations and often require greater community support from nonprofits, volunteers, and tribal and state agencies. Funding for NRAs also comes through annual congressional appropriations, with NPS supporting them through its base operations budget, USFS through its Recreation, Heritage, and Wilderness program, and BLM through its general planning funds. NRAs can also generate revenue through recreation fees, entrance passes, private concessions, and partnerships with friends groups, nonprofits, and volunteers.
This research supports the CWC’s decision to pursue a nationally unique designation: a National Conservation and Recreation Area, or NCRA. An NCRA would combine elements of the NCA and NRA models into a framework suited to the conservation and recreation needs of the Central Wasatch and its growing population.
If you’re interested in learning more, you can read the full paper through this link.
