Exploring risk attenuation and crisis communication after a plague death in Grand Canyon

Abstract

In 2007, a US National Park Service (NPS) biologist working in Grand Canyon National Park in the state of Arizona died from pneumonic plague contracted from a mountain lion, prompting NPS, in partnership with local and federal agencies, to inform publics about plague risk within park contexts. Overall, the incident attracted limited media attention and public concern about an increased risk of plague. Drawing on the Social Amplification of Risk Framework (SARF), the Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication model (CERC) and the related literature outlining ‘best practices’ in crisis communication, we explore how characteristics of this incident may have attenuated, rather than amplified, plague risk. Results are drawn from the data collected at a workshop with NPS employees and in-depth interviews with these and other individuals. Theoretical and practical implications of this research, including future directions for pairing CERC and SARF in organizational risk and crisis communication research are discussed.

Keywords:

• risk communication
• crisis communication
• amplification of risk
• case study

Acknowledgments

This manuscript was prepared with funding from the National Park Service under Task Agreement J2340100021 of the Great Lakes-Northern Forest Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit under Cooperative Agreement H6000082000 between the National Park Service and the University of Minnesota. Margaret Wild, of the NPS Biological Resource Management Division, as well as Chuck Higgins and David Wong, of the NPS Office of Public Health, were instrumental in helping design and execute this research. We also thank employees from Grand Canyon National Park for their helpful guidance and valuable contributions to this study.

Notes

1. Importantly, some scholars have noted that crisis communication plans, while important, do not, on their own, ensure the successful handling of crises. Understanding crisis response, instead, requires considering more ‘macro’-level elements, such as the organizational culture of the workplace, rather than just the ‘technical elements,’ like response plans (Marra 1998, 2004).

2. The NPS published the following data on annual visitation at Grand Canyon National Park (NPS 2011):• 2006 (prior to York’s death): 272, 623, and 980 recreational visits.• 2007 (York dies in late October): 275, 581, and 547 recreational visits.• 2008 (after York’s death): 274, 852, and 949 recreational visits.Monthly visitation for GRCA was reported as the following:• November 2006 (prior to York’s death): 239 and 306 recreational visits.• November 2007 (immediately following York’s death): 235 and 217 recreational visits (1.71% from 2006).• November 2008 (1 year after York’s death): 209 and 843 recreational visits (10.79% change).