Fostering science-based land management in the Western United States
About
The Ucross High Plains Stewardship Initiative, or UHPSI, is a science-based research program focused on land stewardship in the American West. At its core, UHPSI seeks to support research and management practices that embrace our ever changing ecological, social, and political landscapes with strength and resiliency.
UHPSI is housed at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies (FES) in New Haven, Connecticut with a field office in Ucross, Wyoming.
OUR TEAM
charlie bettigole, ms
Michelle Downey, MS
Sabrina Szeto, MF
chad oliver, phd
Raymond Plank
Current Students
Latest news
The Swan Lives On — Sam Maher
The last time I posted, I was a busy forensic ecologist/detective discovering the culprit behind dips in trumpeter swan productivity in western Wyoming. Now, I’m a slick computer programmer using remote sensing data to spatially examine the habitat characteristics selected for by nesting swan pairs. To be transparent, I am neither slick nor a computer Read more about The Swan Lives On — Sam Maher[…]
A Girl Scout’s Walden (Part Two) — Franklin Eccher
Trey Davis, the Preserve Manager at The Nature Conservancy’s Tensleep Preserve, described Tensleep as “a place of superlatives.” Everything at Tensleep is the oldest, the most diverse, the most valuable to researchers, and yet in order for those superlatives to remain true the place must also remain relatively unknown and untouched. My explorations of the Read more about A Girl Scout’s Walden (Part Two) — Franklin Eccher[…]
Soil Dryer Updates Post-field Adventure — Seila De Leon
In mid-July, I had the wonderful opportunity to participate in this year Western Research Fellowship Retreat in Ten Sleep, Wyoming. For the bulk of the Retreat, we spent our time out on the Tensleep preserve taking soil samples using the latest tools such as the soil extractor, the light spectrometer, and even the soil dryer. Read more about Soil Dryer Updates Post-field Adventure — Seila De Leon[…]
A Strong Fourth Quarter — Joshua Perez-Cruet
One of the major challenges I faced during my study was dealing with the weather; benthic invertebrates are extremely sensitive to natural fluctuations such as water flow and temperature. In order to reduce as many scientific variables as possible during sampling, I spent the first weeks waiting for optimal conditions, which was extremely difficult for Read more about A Strong Fourth Quarter — Joshua Perez-Cruet[…]
Ranch Crew: 2018 Overview — Caleb Gray (a Uni. of WY student)
Ranch Crew was an excellent opportunity that I was able to take ahold of, but I was not entirely prepared for what all it entailed. When first glancing over the flyer for it I thought that it might be working as a ranch hand for part of the two weeks, but it was not to Read more about Ranch Crew: 2018 Overview — Caleb Gray (a Uni. of WY student)[…]
Land and Water: Conservation in Colorado’s San Luis Valley — Brendan Boepple
In the San Luis Valley, there are no shortage of views. The Sangre de Cristo Mountains rise like a wall on the east side of the valley and the San Juan Mountains usher in clouds from the west. The headwaters of the Rio Grande, the river snakes through the valley like a ribbon of green Read more about Land and Water: Conservation in Colorado’s San Luis Valley — Brendan Boepple[…]
A Girl Scout’s Walden (Part one) — Franklin Eccher
I first drove into Ten Sleep under cover of Washakie County darkness. The dark ribbon of highway unfurled through the silhouettes of foothills, a seemingly stark landscape in the late-May dusk. My father joined me on the ten-hour road trip from my hometown of Montrose, Colorado to the Nature Conservancy Preserve at Tensleep, and by Read more about A Girl Scout’s Walden (Part one) — Franklin Eccher[…]
The Forks and Fire — Brendan Boepple
Throughout our two weeks with Ranch Crew we became intimate with the Forks Ranch. Assessing ground cover and clipping grasses to measure biomass, we came to understand the natural characteristics of the ranch. We also came to appreciate the deep history of the place through our hosts Cole and Elaine Benton of Grizzly Outfitters. Cole Read more about The Forks and Fire — Brendan Boepple[…]
A Change of Perspective — Natalie Irwin
For the past few months, my project partner, Seila De Leon, and I have been given the challenge of creating a soil-drying field device for the Ucross Quick Carbon project. As Seila explained in her first blog post, we were initially given this assignment as a final project last fall semester. We then chose to Read more about A Change of Perspective — Natalie Irwin[…]
Designing a Soil Dryer for the Field — Seila De Leon
These past few months have been a big eye-opener to me about the importance of soil and understanding nature. I personally have never been a very outdoor person, unless the occasional trip to the beach counts, and never really knew much about soil, carbon in soil, and other nature-related things. However, this past school year Read more about Designing a Soil Dryer for the Field — Seila De Leon[…]
An Unexpected Discovery — Joshua Perez-Cruet
I have focused my last several weeks on the sampling portion of my project and am loving every minute of it!!! My foremost goal is to analyze how two subterranean sink systems affect the benthic macroinvertebrate communities of Canyon Creek through The Nature Conservancy’s property. I’ve been sampling invertebrates from 6 unique spots on the Read more about An Unexpected Discovery — Joshua Perez-Cruet[…]
July 12 to 15: WRF Summer Retreat at Tensleep Preserve
For four sunny days, TNC’s Tensleep Preserve in Ten Sleep, WY set the scene for a gathering of researchers, land managers and students working on questions relevant to land management in the intermountain West. People came from near and far to participate in the retreat, flying in from California, North Dakota, Texas and Connecticut or Read more about July 12 to 15: WRF Summer Retreat at Tensleep Preserve[…]
Women translating ‘pixels to knowledge’ with Google Earth Engine — Sabrina Szeto
The following is an excerpt from the post: SABRINA SZETO Geospatial Analyst, Ucross High Plains Stewardship Initiative Master of Forestry, Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies The Ucross High Plains Stewardship Initiative is a research program at Yale which fosters science-based land management across the intermountain American West. We partner with land managers such Read more about Women translating ‘pixels to knowledge’ with Google Earth Engine — Sabrina Szeto[…]
Changing Perspectives: The Enemy is Everywhere — Reid Lewis
I had the pleasure of arriving to Sheridan, Wyoming via road trip. My father, recently retired, proposed to turn the drive into a camping trip, and he and I spent three great days traveling the plains and mountains of Utah and Wyoming. Passing through Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks, the drive was extraordinary. Coming Read more about Changing Perspectives: The Enemy is Everywhere — Reid Lewis[…]
Of Bolts and Bullets, Part 1 — Jesse Bryant
In April 1909 Ten Sleep, Wyoming was the site of one of the last deadly conflicts of one of our lesser civil wars, the Sheep and Cattleman’s War. When relationship to land is central to life, divisions among appropriate land use are sometimes as salient as the Berlin Wall. On the night of April 2, Read more about Of Bolts and Bullets, Part 1 — Jesse Bryant[…]