Keith Bosak
Assistant Professor of Nature Based Tourism and Recreation
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Office Location: CHCB 464 Office Telephone: 406-243-6062 E-mail: keith.bosak@umontana.edu Curriculum Vitae: Click here |
Description
My research is broadly centered in human-environment interactions and the intersection of conservation and development. Within this, my focus is on ecotourism, community development and natural resource management, particularly in mountainous areas and developing countries. The pursuit of these investigations has taken me to a wide range of geographic locations where I have had the opportunity to study a diversity of topics. These include adventure tourism and economic crisis in Argentina, Women’s roles in ecotourism in India and population and development issues in Nepal. Since 2005 I have been conducting field courses with university students in the Indian Himalaya. This experience has been both challenging and immensely rewarding for me and my students. My experiences in India led my partner and I to start a small ecotourism venture called the Nature-Link Institute. We now run several courses a year to the Himalaya. In my free time, I enjoy being outdoors and moving through the landscape. My passions include trail running, rock and ice climbing, snowboarding, high altitude mountaineering and teaching and learning with students in a field setting.
Education
PhD., 2006 University of Georgia, Department of Geography, Dissertation: “The Local Effects of Global Conservation Policy: Political ecology, environmental justice and the production of scale in the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, India.”
M.A., 2000 Appalachian State University, Department of Geography. Thesis: “Developing a Low Impact Model for Tourism: A case study of the Garhwal Himalaya, India.”
B.S., 1998 Appalachian State University, Department of Geography. GIS concentration.
Field of Study
Nature-based tourism
Ecotourism
Community development
International conservation and development
Geographies of Tourism
GIS
Selected Publications
Peer-reviewed Publications
Serenari, C, Bosak, K., and Attarian, A. (2012) Cross-cultural efficacy of American low-impact
programs: A comparison between Garhwal guide beliefs on environmental behavior and American outdoor travel norms. Tourism Management. (34): 50-60.
Boley, B., Nickerson, N. and K. Bosak. (2011). Measuring Geotourism: Developing and Testing
the Geotraveler Tendency Scale. Journal of Travel Research. 50(5): 567-578
Bosak, K. (2010). Ecotourism as Environmental Justice? The case of the Nanda Devi Biosphere
Reserve. Journal of Environmental Philosophy. 7(2): 49-74.
Bosak, K., Boley, B and K. Zaret. (2010). Deconstructing the “Crown of the Continent”: Power,
Politics and the Process of Creating National Geographic’s Geotourism Mapguides. Tourism Geographies. 12(3): 460-480.
Bosak, K (2009). Nature, Conflict and Biodiversity Conservation in the Nanda Devi Biosphere
Reserve. Current Conservation. 3(4)
Bosak, K (2009). The Environmental Impacts of Tourism in Wharf, Barney ed. The Encyclopedia of Geography Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Friemund, W., Patterson, M., Bosak, K. and S. Walker Saxon. (2009). “Winter Visitor
Experiences in Yellowstone National Park.” Technical Completion Report submitted to the National Park Service
Bosak, K. (2008). “Nature, Conflict and Biodiversity Conservation in the Nanda Devi
Biosphere Reserve.” Conservation and Society 6(3): 211-224.
Bosak, K. and Schroeder, K. (2005). “Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for Gender
and Development.” Development in Practice. 15:(2) 233-39.
Bosak, K. and Schroeder, K. (2004). “Community Based Conservation and Ecotourism: A
Struggle for Resource Rights in the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve.” Focus on Geography. 48:(1) 1-6.
Publications
Other Publications
Nygaard, K. and Bosak, K. (2012). Assessing the Mineral County Challenge. General Technical
Report submitted to the One Montana Initiative.
Bosak, K. (2012). Integrated Touring Circuits for Regional Travel in Patagonia. General
Technical Report for the Center for the Investigation of Patagonian Ecosystems (CIEP) and the Center for Scientific Tourism (CST). 115 pages.
Bosak, K., Nygaard, K. and Mutrie, K. (2012). Bitterroot Valley Wildfire Response Guide: A pilot
project for improving education, communication and trust in the Bitterroot Valley, Montana. Technical Completion Report submitted to the USFS, Bitterroot National Forest. 39 pages.
Bosak, K. and Kainthola, S. (2011). Going Global: Livelihoods and globalization in the Niti
Valley, Garhwal Himalaya, India. International Geographical Union Commission on Marginalization, Globalization and Regional and Local Responses. Nainital Conference, Nainital, India. (conference proceedings)
Bosak, K., Sutton, G,. Nickerson, N and B. Bryan. (2010). The Potential and Positioning of the
North American Market for Scientific Tourism in Aysen. General Technical Report for the Center for the Investigation of Patagonian Ecosystems (CIEP) and the Center for Scientific Tourism (CST). 76 pages.
Bosak, K. (2006). “From Global Events to Local Livelihoods: The Struggle to Maintain
Sustainability in the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve” Green Life Magazine.
Bosak, K. (2004). “Community Based Ecotourism in the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve.” The
American Alpine News. 11 (244) 16-19.
Bosak, K. (2002). “Sex Ratio Variation in Nepal.” AAG Population Specialty Group Newsletter.
26 (fall 2002).
Bosak, K. (2001). “Nepal’s Secret.” (edited by Neal Lineback) Geography in the News. 579.
