The life of the Yampa River has many important lessons, it remains the wildest tributary to the Colorado River system and makes up a significant share of the Upper Basin’s water flows. The Yampa River provides a 3rd of flows to the Green River, which is the largest tributary to the Colorado River. With the Read more about A River Saved: Yampa, Water, Energy, and Climate Change — Humna Sharif[…]
The United States recognizes over 500 American Indian or Alaskan Native nations. There is extraordinary variety in the cultural, spiritual, and stewardship practices among Native American peoples. Sincere collaboration with Native nations provides non-Native land stewards an opportunity to confront an often terrible history, steward landscapes effectively for more stakeholders, and pursue a better future Read more about Pursuing Better Stewardship and Better Futures: Centering Native American Histories and Perspectives[…]
Humna is working with the water conservation team at National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) to assess anthropogenic threats to western waterways that run through or close to national parks. Recent policy rollbacks in legacy environmental laws, including the Waters of the United States Rule under the Clean Water Act (CWA) and the National Environmental Policy Read more about Assessing Climate Change Impacts to Waterways Near National Parks in the West[…]
Is it possible to tell a complete story? I mean, not a good story or a fun story or a scary story; a complete story? One that tells all the parts, doesn’t leave anything out? The type of story you finish and not only think “Wow, I have a holistic and entire understanding of blank,” Read more about Modern Storytelling, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Difficulties of Trying to Convey Truth — Reid H. Lewis[…]
Clean and safe water is one of the most precious resources anywhere in the world, but this is especially true for arid regions with growing populations. Southwestern US, known for being hot and dry, is getting even hotter and drier due to climate change. The Colorado River is the single most important source of water Read more about Water in the Southwest and the New-Old Threat of Uranium Mining — Humna Sharif[…]
As the number of outdoor recreationists expands due to a confluence of improved technology and social trends, humans and wildlife increasingly overlap in their demands for natural spaces. Over this past year, our UHPSI project team has explored this issue in the context of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. A dramatic and alluring landscape, this region Read more about Balancing Rights in the Context of Outdoor Recreation — Talia Niederman[…]
When I present my research to the F&ES community, all I will see is the flashback of this summer: a summer I spent in California with a Californian man who is like a tree and three women from Georgia, Sweden, and Boston respectively. It was a summer with heat and sweat, tons of hiking and Read more about Field Research in California’s Forest after Wildfire — Zhi Li[…]
In partnership with the Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative, UHPSI research assistants investigated trends, conditions, and projections surrounding recreation in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) to identify possible recreation ethics for the region. Growing negative impacts of recreation on the ecosystem necessitate a reevaluation of attitudes surrounding recreational access and growth. Through conversations with participants in Read more about Impacts of Recreation on the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem[…]
BACKGROUND Bridger-Teton National Forest (BTNF) in western Wyoming is the third-largest forest in the continental United States. It is a key piece of the biodiverse Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, home to everything from charismatic megafauna like wolves and grizzly bears to birds and trout. It is also a place that has been shaped inexorably by human 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[…]
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[…]
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[…]
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[…]
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[…]
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[…]
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[…]