Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 1916, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 1923, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Bachelor of Science (BS), Ohio University, 2022, Journalism

Spread Out! is a podcast about the pandemic, the national parks and people's place in nature. Weaving together interviews with National Park Service employees and other experts, extensive research and the author's personal experience, each episode illustrates how visitors have both impacted and been impacted by national parks throughout the course of the pandemic. The four-part series visits parks from the Great Smoky Mountains to the Grand Canyon to Denali National Park, including an entire episode about the newest national park: New River Gorge. Outdoor recreation increased substantially during the initial stages of the pandemic and overall park service visitation has been growing consistently since 2016. Spread Out! discusses why these changes matter and how we can take better care of the parks – while squeezing in more than a few fun facts and stories along the way.

Committee: Geoffrey Buckley (Advisor); Bernhard Debatin (Advisor) Subjects: Environmental Studies; Journalism

Master of Arts, University of Toledo, 2021, Geography

On February 15th, 2019, Indiana Dunes was elevated to the designation of a U.S. National Park. Along with this designation belongs the credo of the U.S. National Park Service, to conserve such places that are deem naturally, historically, or in so many words ecologically important by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations. In 2019, the water level in Lake Michigan was trending above the long term recorded average, and as a result several locations in the National Park sustained damage due to erosion and inundation. Current water levels are receding, but predictions suggest that fluctuations from low to high periods will becomes more frequent and more severe. Acknowledging that this may be a certain outcome, requires a great understanding of the shoreline morphology within the National Park, especially considering such namesake features as the shoreline dunes. This study uses LiDAR data from an era of below average to a period of elevated water level for five areas of interest within Indiana Dunes National Park, to categorize levels of change in the near shore and beach regions, as well as quantify metrics of beach width change. Resulting in several Areas of Interest containing mixed values of dune elevation loss with some gain. Importantly identifying that Mount Baldy and Central Avenue Beach have majorly experienced dune elevation loss where iv gains were not seen based on dune migration. Additional findings include the massive inundation of beach area and substantial loss of foredunes at Portage Beach and the token area of Beach width gain at Beverly Shores (East).

Committee: Patrick Lawrence (Committee Chair); Kevin Czajkowski (Committee Member); Ricky Becker (Committee Member) Subjects: Geography; Geomorphology; Remote Sensing

Master of Arts (MA), Ohio University, 2019, Geography (Arts and Sciences)

This project offers a comprehensive resource management history of Canyonlands National Park in southeastern Utah, focusing on the 1980s to the present. Canyonlands National Park and the surrounding area has experienced conflict and contention in the years since the park's establishment in 1964. The protection and preservation of wilderness has been highly contested historically in the United States, usually pitting public land advocates against the fossil fuel industry, and Utah is no exception. Since the establishment of the park, there have been several attempts to both protect lands that surround the park, as well as open the lands for energy development and other extractive industries. To determine what forces came together to defeat the Greater Canyonlands National Monument Proposal in 2013, I conducted archival research and content analysis on four groups of documents comprised mainly of newspaper articles. I found that conflict is deeply ingrained in the area and that the main conflicts and contentions are the same as they were 60 years ago.

Committee: Geoffrey Buckley (Committee Chair); Harold Perkins (Committee Member); Tim Anderson (Committee Member) Subjects: Geography

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2019, Environmental Studies (Voinovich)

Canyonlands National Park was established in 1964 during a time of change in American recreation and for the National Park Service. The area proposed for inclusion in the park provided economic benefits to local Utahns via mineral extraction, hunting, and livestock grazing. Traditionally, national park designation would prohibit such uses, but the Canyonlands bills presented by Utah congressional delegates provided for continued multiple uses in the park. Supporters of the multiple-use concept cited increasing material and recreational needs for Americans and urged allowance of commercial development on protected lands. Preservationists refuted that all national parks would be jeopardized if Canyonlands National Park was established with provisions for multiple commercial uses. I analyzed 359 newspaper articles and nine congressional hearing testimonies, which revealed important themes including conflict between preservation and utilitarian values, state and local desires for autonomous land management and economic development, and the need for diversifying recreational opportunities offered by federal land management agencies. The story of establishing Canyonlands is illustrative of the pervasive challenges confronting many National Park Service units, especially those in the desert Southwest.

Committee: Geoff Buckley (Committee Chair); Geoff Dabelko (Committee Member); Steve Scanlan (Committee Member) Subjects: Environmental Studies; Geography; Natural Resource Management