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Community Support for a Gold Cyanide Process Mine: Resident and Leader Differences in Rural Montana *
Author(s) -
Richards Rebecca T.,
Brod Rodney L.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
rural sociology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.083
H-Index - 65
eISSN - 1549-0831
pISSN - 0036-0112
DOI - 10.1526/0036011042722804
Subject(s) - distrust , hazardous waste , context (archaeology) , gold mining , rural community , business , environmental planning , waste management , political science , socioeconomics , geography , engineering , sociology , law , archaeology , chemistry
Previous studies have established that community residents and leaders differ in their support for hazardous waste facility siting in rural areas (Spies et al. 1998). We examine whether these same differences exist in rural communities that face other high‐risk development decisions by analyzing resident and leader support for a proposed gold cyanide process (GCP) mine in Montana. Compared to proposed hazardous waste facilities, a much stronger predictor of both resident and leader support in the GCP mine context is recreancy, or distrust in institutions and outside interveners. However, perceived economic benefits remain key differences between residents and leaders in both the GCP mine and hazardous waste facility cases.