Tapoof, Koralene; Soyer, Mehmet (Utah State University)
Faculty Advisor: Soyer, Mehmet (College of Humanities and Social Sciences; Sociology, Social Work, and Anthropology Department)
With the increased development of natural gas in the United States, the northeastern part of Utah lies an area called the "Energy Hub" of the Uintah Basin. The estimated acreage is about five million acres, which 53 percent is controlled by the federal government. It is rich in tight sands and shale gas and has brought about recent gas exploration and development making this area in the Uintah and Duchesne counties of the Uintah Basin the largest oil and natural gas producing in the state of Utah. The purpose of this research is to examine how residents perceive the impacts of Oil and Gas developments in Ute Tribe Reservation. This proposed research will fill the gap in the literature regarding residents' perceptions on the impacts of hydraulic fracturing in Native Indian Reservation. We also explore the perceptions of Ute Tribe members on social, environmental, and health impacts of Oil and Gas Industry. Participants will be a minimum of 20 individuals who live in Ute Tribe Reservation, Fort Duchesne. The interviews will be in-depth and semi-structured. This study will be qualitative and exploratory. NVIVO 12 Qualitative software will be used to analyze collected data.