Draft
Conduct opinion surveys on important issues facing Moab. Be an “honest broker” for the information that is critical for creating a knowledgeable community and for making good decisions.
Partner with Moab’s Times-Independent newspaper to publish quarterly opinion surveys on important issues regarding the future of Moab.
This initiative is about learning, and encourages healthy, collaborative leadership in the community by providing better information for the community and decision makers.
What Does Moab Think? In March of 1995, Moab hosted the Colorado Plateau Forum. A few hundred people met to talk about economic development and environmental issues. Daniel Kemmis, Director of the Center for the Rocky Mountain West and former Mayor of Missoula was one of the keynote speakers. As expected, there were many heated discussions about conflicting development and environmental issues. But the main focus was to look for areas of common agreement. A dozen facilitators were asked to work with attendees to identify shared values. Despite such a diverse group, there was a near consensus on the following key values:
v Keep the small town atmosphere
v Maintain the rural character
v Preserve the spectacular natural resources in the surrounding area
Today, most people who live here still strongly hold these values.
Moab’s newspaper the Times-Independent published it’s first opinion survey in the spring of 2005. It’s purpose was to assess what the public feels about critical recreation and natural resource issues. The survey was conducted by an environmental advocacy group and as a result it received some criticism for. However, it was a good first start.