Fostering land stewardship and conservation in the American West
through teaching, research, outreach and leadership.
About
The Ucross High Plains Stewardship Initiative (UHPSI) is focused on land stewardship and conservation in the American West. At its core, UHPSI seeks to engage in teaching, research and outreach on land stewardship, primarily through mentoring students on applied research and management projects with partners. UHPSI is housed at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies in New Haven, CT.
OUR TEAM
Indy Burke, PhD
Michelle Downey, MS
Sabrina Szeto, MF
Current Students
Latest news
Pulse of the River —Reid Lewis
The Southwest is a dry place. This statement should not surprise anyone; when you think of Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico, you think of Prickly Pear and Saguaro, desert sunsets and dusty streets. What may not so quickly come to mind are the rapidly growing cities of Los Angeles, Phoenix, Albuquerque, Denver, and Las Vegas. Read more about Pulse of the River —Reid Lewis[…]
Engaging the Jackson Hole Latinx and Youth Communities in Bridger-Teton National Forest Review Processes —Eve Barnett, Haley Leslie-Bole, and Jesse Bryant
BACKGROUND Located in western Wyoming, Bridger-Teton National Forest (BTNF) is the third-largest forest in the continental US and administered by the US Forest Service (USFS). It plays a significant role in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem, home to everything from charismatic megafauna like wolves and grizzly bears to birds and trout. It is also a place Read more about Engaging the Jackson Hole Latinx and Youth Communities in Bridger-Teton National Forest Review Processes —Eve Barnett, Haley Leslie-Bole, and Jesse Bryant[…]
Urbanization & Human-Wildlife Conflict in the West —Amy Zuckerwise
Black bear at a bird feeder Carnivores have become social media sensations when they enter into urban areas. Hundreds of videos of bears breaking into houses and raiding the refrigerators or mountain lions lying under an unsuspecting resident’s back porch can be found with one quick online search. After a predator shows up in a Read more about Urbanization & Human-Wildlife Conflict in the West —Amy Zuckerwise[…]
Grasslands Can Help Fight Climate Change —Jeffrey Conti
A significant amount of carbon is locked up underneath the ancient grasslands of North America. Grasses naturally absorb carbon during their lifecycle, and over time can sequester that carbon into the underlying soils. Grasslands carbon is considered safely locked away and out of the picture when it comes to rapidly accelerating global greenhouse gas emissions Read more about Grasslands Can Help Fight Climate Change —Jeffrey Conti[…]
A Brief Native History of Yellowstone National Park —Meghanlata Gupta
Meghanlata Gupta is a current sophomore at Yale with a major in sociocultural anthropology. Her interests lie at the intersection between Native American law and policy, land management, and Tribal health in the West and throughout the United States. Meghan will be writing a series of blog posts focused on wild bison management in the Read more about A Brief Native History of Yellowstone National Park —Meghanlata Gupta[…]
Brucellosis: Disease or Deeper? — Meghanlata Gupta
Meghanlata Gupta is a current sophomore at Yale with a major in sociocultural anthropology. Her interests lie at the intersection between Native American law and policy, land management, and Tribal health in the West and throughout the United States. Meghan will be writing a series of blog posts focused on wild bison management in the Read more about Brucellosis: Disease or Deeper? — Meghanlata Gupta[…]
Engaging Youth and Underserved Communities in Land Management and Project Review Processes for the Bridger-Teton National Forest
We are working with the Bridger-Teton National Forest to map community networks that will facilitate the forest in engaging local Latino and youth communities in future Forest Plan Revision and project-specific efforts. The Bridger-Teton intention is to ensure that these communities’ concerns and aspirations are used to inform the decisions made by the National Forest Read more about Engaging Youth and Underserved Communities in Land Management and Project Review Processes for the Bridger-Teton National Forest[…]
Communicating Vegetation Response after Fire in the Bridger-Teton National Forest
Our student research assistants partnered with Bridger-Teton National Forest (BTNF) in Wyoming to create a report on the stand dynamics of postfire vegetative regeneration and management implications. Wildfire serves an important ecological role in maintaining species composition and forest structure in the Bridger-Teton National Forest. Previous management practices have employed prescribed burning as a tool Read more about Communicating Vegetation Response after Fire in the Bridger-Teton National Forest[…]
Coordinating Online Communications for Ucross High Plains Stewardship Initiative
As the Ucross Communications Coordinator, Meghanlata has completed a number of improvement projects for the website and other Ucross communications, including updating the “current students” page and creating posts for 2019 projects. Additionally, she also writes for the Ucross blog and works with the symposium committee. Student Coordinator Meghanlata Gupta, Communications Coordinator | Meghanlata Read more about Coordinating Online Communications for Ucross High Plains Stewardship Initiative[…]
Reconciling Landownership and Sage-Grouse Management Designation Data
This is an inter-agency project led by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Geological Survey. Federal and State agencies frequently respond to requests for analyses of land status within the sagebrush biome, such as acres of land ownership or management designation. However, across agencies the results are inconsistent. The goal for this Read more about Reconciling Landownership and Sage-Grouse Management Designation Data[…]
Organizing and Implementing the Western Speaker Series
The Symposium Student Coordinators organize the Western Speaker Series, which connects knowledgeable conservation professionals with Yale students to learn about and discuss issues facing the American West. The coordinators work with the UHPSI staff to plan presentations and panel discussions on campus with speakers who bring valuable insight and perspectives on the past and future Read more about Organizing and Implementing the Western Speaker Series[…]
Increasing Adoption of Grasslands Avoided Conversion Carbon Projects
Climate and Forest Capital (CFC) has partnered with the Environmental Defense Fund on an NRCS Conservation Innovation Grant to research economic incentives that could increase the adoption of conservation practices on US working lands. One of the primary strategies being investigated utilizes a Climate Action Reserve protocol that measures greenhouse gas reductions resulting from the Read more about Increasing Adoption of Grasslands Avoided Conversion Carbon Projects[…]
Understanding Socio-economic Change and Implications for the Future of the Bridger-Teton National Forest
Our student research team has been working with the Bridger-Teton National Forest to help inform their efforts for a future Forest Management Plan. The team has been compiling socioeconomic data related to the shifting demographics of three very different counties in western Wyoming as well as researching academic literature in the fields of geography, sociology, Read more about Understanding Socio-economic Change and Implications for the Future of the Bridger-Teton National Forest[…]
Estimating Utah Prairie Dog Survival Using Camera-trap Data
One of our research assistants is working with the Utah Bureau of Land Management to analyze trends in plague-induced prairie dog mortality. The Utah prairie dog (Cynomys parvidens) is currently listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Alongside habitat destruction, sylvatic plague is a major cause of their population decline. By monitoring various colonies Read more about Estimating Utah Prairie Dog Survival Using Camera-trap Data[…]
Conservation Planning for Sheridan County, WY
Our research assistant team worked in partnership with the Sheridan Community Land Trust to develop a conservation planning mapping tool to guide future private land conservation efforts. They incorporated a variety of spatial data from public sources to help SCLT prioritize and direct its funding and outreach in cooperation with its organization’s goals to protect Read more about Conservation Planning for Sheridan County, WY[…]