2022 Annual Report
Check our UHPSI’s newly released 2022 Annual Report! Read about student projects, impacts, and journeys from the past year.
Category: News
Highlighting the “Impacts of COVID-19 On The Rural West: Material Needs, Economic Recovery, Political Attitudes” Report from the Rural West Covid Project
Yale School of the Environment’s Professor Dr. Justin Farrell and his lab received National Science Foundation funding to research the impacts of Covid-19 on the rural West. The team worked rapidly and has published an initial report, “Impacts of COVID-19 On The Rural West: Material Needs, Economic Recovery, Political Attitudes”, which summarizes survey results from Read more about Highlighting the “Impacts of COVID-19 On The Rural West: Material Needs, Economic Recovery, Political Attitudes” Report from the Rural West Covid Project[…]
UHPSI Black Lives Matter Solidarity Statement and Reading List
The Ucross High Plains Stewardship Initiative stands in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and all Black people and communities in the pursuit of justice and a world without police violence and all other forms of anti-Black racism. This movement is not a singular movement—it is part of a centuries-long history of Black resistance Read more about UHPSI Black Lives Matter Solidarity Statement and Reading List[…]
Op-Ed: Don’t just cheer wildland firefighters as heroes. Give them affordable healthcare — James F. Puerini and Gerald Torres
James F Puerini, masters of forestry candidate, and Professor Gerald Torres have recently published an excellent op-ed focused on wildland firefighter’s access to healthcare. Please visit the link below to read their op-ed published in the Los Angeles Times. Op-Ed: Don’t just cheer wildland firefighters as heroes. Give them affordable healthcare — James F. Puerini Read more about Op-Ed: Don’t just cheer wildland firefighters as heroes. Give them affordable healthcare — James F. Puerini and Gerald Torres[…]
Annual Report 2019 — Michelle Downey
Please find our 2019 annual report below. We are incredibly grateful for all the partnerships and collaborations that have allowed UHPSI to provide over 65 students with experiential learning opportunities during 2019. Thank you to our students, partners, and supporters! Full PDF 2019 Annual Report here.
Summer 2023 Opportunities
Funded Student Summer Experiences in Colorado
(Visit back in January, we will have these same positions open for summer 2024)
Developing and Testing Long-term Ecological Monitoring Protocols for Land Practitioners in South-Central Colorado
Summer Experience Description
During the last year, our YSE team has collected field data at the ranch, studied ecological monitoring strategies, and drafted initial long-term monitoring protocols for the ranch. We are currently seeking Yale students to field test and implement these monitoring protocols at the ranch in Colorado during summer 2022. Student work this summer will directly contribute to our efforts to develop and test monitoring for the ranch and study important land management questions.
The monitoring protocols aim to answer key ecological questions about natural resources at the ranch to inform future land management decisions. Students will implement monitoring over a variety of areas on the ranch, which are likely to include riparian areas, sagebrush ares, and high-elevation forests.
Download the PDF below for more details and learn how to apply.
Western Resources Fellowship
Application Period Closed for 2023
A student-driven query involving research, an internship, or management project during the summer.
Ucross High Plains Stewardship Initiative at YSE provides fellows with a financial award, logistical assistance, and mentorship to aid with a summer experience that will have a high impact on conservation, stewardship, or management of natural resources in the Rocky Mountain or High Plains regions. This program supports Yale graduate and undergraduate students completing a summer work that will provide them with practical experience, leadership skills, and/or research experience that will prepare fellows for their future careers. A financial award of up to $8,000 will be granted to each fellow. Fellows will actively participate in peer mentoring with other fellows and will receive guidance from UHPSI staff during the summer.
Read more about past fellows work: 2021 |Past fellowships.
How to Apply
Please apply using the Yale Students Grant Database by March 18, 2023. More information about applications materials can be found in PDF below along with general fellowship expectations.
View 10-minute presentations by each 2020 Western Resources Fellows by clicking here.
Zhi Li 
Frank Eccher 
Josh Perez-Cruet 
Shea Flanagan 
Danielle Glass 
Lucas Isakowitz 
Leif Castren 
Frank Eccher
Land Management Field Practicum – Not offered in 2023
Funding the Future of Conservation: A GreenLight Ideation Session with Colorado Parks and Wildlife — Franklin Eccher
Colorado, like many western states, faces a sticky problem: its outdoor spaces are being loved to death. The problem is multi-fold, a product of the transient recreational eco-tourism industry, but also of its influx of permanent residents. Colorado’s population is projected to double from five million to ten million people from 2010 to 2050. The Read more about Funding the Future of Conservation: A GreenLight Ideation Session with Colorado Parks and Wildlife — Franklin Eccher[…]
Western Research Fellows present at F&ES Research Day 2018
We were so excited to see several Western Research Fellows present their master’s thesis at the 34th Annual F&ES Research Day on April 20th, 2018. Research Day is an annual research conference for F&ES research Masters and Doctoral students to present original research to their peers and the public. To download the Research Day Program, Read more about Western Research Fellows present at F&ES Research Day 2018[…]
Further Reflections on RALLY! — Ben Williamson
“If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.” –Ethan Winter, New York Senior Program Manager for the Land Trust Alliance. Over the last weekend of October, I attended the annual Land Trust Alliance Rally in Denver. Besides soaking in the dry air I grew up in, I spent a whirlwind of a weekend, Read more about Further Reflections on RALLY! — Ben Williamson[…]
RALLY! — Jeff Conti
Anyone looking for injections of enthusiasm and creative ideas in the world of land conservation needs to head to the Land Trust Alliance annual Rally – better known as RALLY! The 2017 Rally convened at the Denver Convention Center from October 26th-28th for a weekend of workshops, presentations and connections. As someone relatively new to Read more about RALLY! — Jeff Conti[…]
Rethinking Greenhouse Construction
In our recent stakeholder meeting, a few participants spent time discussing the application of season extension practices to enhance crop production in the region. These practices enable crops to be grown for a longer period of time each year, increasing overall yields and spreading out income-generating periods. In these regions, light is often blamed for Read more about Rethinking Greenhouse Construction[…]
Farmers and Ranchers are Getting Older
UHPSI is concluding a short-term study looking at the changing demographics among farm and ranch operators across the state of Wyoming. Using agricultural records dating back to the 1920s, it has been possible to extract meaningful statistics on how these groups have changed over time. Here we show the change in the average age of Read more about Farmers and Ranchers are Getting Older[…]
Follow us on Facebook
If you’re looking for updates or news from before May of 2013, you’re out of luck. UHPSI was created in the spring of 2013. However, if you are simply looking for another way to view our news, you can also follow us on Facebook.
Happy Holidays!
Happy Holidays from all of us at UHPSI! Many thanks to everyone at Ucross and throughout Wyoming for welcoming us and lending your support during our first 6 months!
Early winter storm
Winter can come swiftly and without solid warning these days; Ucross was just hit by a fairly early snowstorm that brought a bit too much snow for some of the trees on the property to handle. Take a look at the view from the front porch of the Big Red Lane office. According to folks Read more about Early winter storm[…]