2022 Annual Report
Check our UHPSI’s newly released 2022 Annual Report! Read about student projects, impacts, and journeys from the past year.
Category: Management
Funding Priorities for Improving Ecological Value and Agricultural Viability on Colorado Rangelands
Kathleen Voight is working with the Additive Conservation department of the Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust (CCALT) to determine funding priorities for their internally-managed Agricultural Resiliency Fund. CCALT holds easements over 700,000 acres of ranchland across Colorado, with the goal of conserving working landscapes for the benefit of future generations. The Agricultural Resiliency Fund will Read more about Funding Priorities for Improving Ecological Value and Agricultural Viability on Colorado Rangelands[…]
On Developing a Systems Thinking Model—Julia Chen
George E. P. Box once said that “All models are wrong, but some are useful.” As we try to make sense of the world, we attempt to rationalize the patterns we see and how they are connected. However, generalizing these connections often narrows our views and eventually solidifies the basic facts we begin to organize Read more about On Developing a Systems Thinking Model—Julia Chen[…]
Beavers and Space—Sam Wilson
It’s December here in New Haven, Connecticut. The leaves have all fallen, the grass is done growing, and the days are getting quite short. It also means that Christmas is right around the corner. I was having a conversation with friends the other day about Christmas movies. Afterward, I remembered one that hadn’t come up Read more about Beavers and Space—Sam Wilson[…]
Stepping Out of the Steppe—Rachel Renne
As temperatures climbed this summer, so did the elevations of the plots that I visited. My gradual ascent was an attempt to capture the plant community of each site at a time when I would be able to detect and identify most of the plant species. Higher elevations mean lower temperatures, and while many grasses Read more about Stepping Out of the Steppe—Rachel Renne[…]
Improving Model Outputs and Recommendations Through Field Work—Rob Anderson
As I write this, while sitting in my 82-degree New Haven apartment, I cannot help but feel some nostalgia for the two summers I have now spent in Pinedale, WY doing research for my Master’s degree. I have spent the vast majority of my life in New England. Prior to the past two field seasons, Read more about Improving Model Outputs and Recommendations Through Field Work—Rob Anderson[…]
Why study outdoor recreation in the American West?—Mara MacDonell
Industry, based on landscape, has been foundational to the American West’s cultural and ideological underpinnings since the beginning of colonization. While natural resource extraction industries (mining, logging, ranching, agriculture) spurred westward expansion and continues to be a significant industry in the West, a new industry is of increasing importance, outdoor recreation. Both the extraction and Read more about Why study outdoor recreation in the American West?—Mara MacDonell[…]
Gold Underfoot! Soil Organic Matter matters—Raffa Sindoni
Soil is the tapestry upon which all life is weaved. Our water is cleaned through it. Our food rises from it. As young children, our bare feet kiss it. After death, we return back to it. And so, the cycle goes, for time immemorial. Most splendid of all, a full-spectrum of life flourishes in just Read more about Gold Underfoot! Soil Organic Matter matters—Raffa Sindoni[…]
Methods and Modalities to Explore Rural Gentrification— Mara MacDonell
Over the last year, the rural gentrification research group has been approaching the subject of rural gentrification from a variety of perspectives. Rural gentrification has many, mutable meanings and definitions, both within academia and public discourse. Our research reflects this, as we have investigated the topic through a variety of avenues including changing land-use, environmental Read more about Methods and Modalities to Explore Rural Gentrification— Mara MacDonell[…]
Framing the “New West”— Molly Ryan
The “Old West” and the “New West.” These terms are often used to characterize the transformation of rural western economies and communities from places oriented around extractive industries to those based around natural amenities and recreation (Bryson & Wyckoff, 2010; Krannich et al., 2011; Shumway & Otterstrom, 2001). This transformation is driven by in-migration from Read more about Framing the “New West”— Molly Ryan[…]
Rural Gentrification: The Housing Crisis — Mara MacDonell
There are two things that are common knowledge if you live in a ski town (and you don’t have a trust fund to support you): 1) Getting a job is easy, which is good because you’ll probably need at least two; and 2) there is no housing. Previous to matriculating at Yale, I lived in Read more about Rural Gentrification: The Housing Crisis — Mara MacDonell[…]
Is Oregon’s Land Use System Protecting Farmers? — Shannon Bell
Between 2001 and 2016, 11 million acres of farmland in the United States were developed, with 4.1 million acres converted to urban and highly developed land uses and almost 7 million acres converted to low-density residential use. The 2017 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Census revealed that from 2012 to 2017, the amount of Read more about Is Oregon’s Land Use System Protecting Farmers? — Shannon Bell[…]
Seeing the Forest for the (Burnt) Trees: How Salvage Logging in Oregon is Perpetuating Outdated Extractive Approaches to Federal Forestland Management—Shannon Bell
In late May of 2021, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) approved a plan to log over 900 acres of forestland burned in the Holiday Farm Fire, which swept through the landscape in September of 2020 [1]. As a result of a policy change issued by the Trump administration in late 2020, the BLM is Read more about Seeing the Forest for the (Burnt) Trees: How Salvage Logging in Oregon is Perpetuating Outdated Extractive Approaches to Federal Forestland Management—Shannon Bell[…]
Impact of Variable Grazing Pressure and Climate Change on Big Sagebrush Plant Communities
Associated with rising temperatures, altered precipitation patterns are predicted to create novel climates contributing to changes in the distribution of potential vegetation. This is especially true in drylands across the American West, where the annual distribution of precipitation influences water availability, which is directly related to the competitive advantage of grasses or shrubs. Alongside shifting Read more about Impact of Variable Grazing Pressure and Climate Change on Big Sagebrush Plant Communities[…]
Impact of land use change policies on carbon sequestration capacity of natural and working lands in the US Climate Alliance western states
Kyle is working with The Nature Conservancy, North America Natural Climate Solutions Team. He will complete a regional land use planning policy analysis for a group of Western States that are part of the US Climate Alliance (Oregon, Washington, California, New Mexico, Nevada, Montana, Colorado). His synthesis policy research and workshops aim to build Western Read more about Impact of land use change policies on carbon sequestration capacity of natural and working lands in the US Climate Alliance western states[…]