Category: Projects

Investigating Producer Responses to Grasshopper Outbreaks – Alexia Zolenski and Jackson Newman

Posted on by Josh Blake

Check out the end result of Alexia Zolenski and Jackson Newman’s project, described here! Jackson Newman – WCC Coordinator | Jackson is a master’s in environmental management candidate specializing in ecosystem conservation and management. Prior to Yale, Jackson was a community organizer in eastern Montana for a conservation and family agriculture non-profit. Jackson is particularly Read more about Investigating Producer Responses to Grasshopper Outbreaks – Alexia Zolenski and Jackson Newman[…]

Making Water Real: Tribal Water Rights and the Infrastructure Gap in the Colorado River Basin – Alice Le Bihan

Posted on by Josh Blake

The next time you turn on your tap, think backwards. Imagine rewinding the journey of the drop of water in your hand. It flows back through the pipes in your home, beneath the streets, past treatment plants and pumping stations, until it returns to the river or reservoir where it first entered the system. That Read more about Making Water Real: Tribal Water Rights and the Infrastructure Gap in the Colorado River Basin – Alice Le Bihan[…]

The Middle of Everywhere – Change is Center Stage In the Jornada Del Muerto – Sam Jurado

Posted on by Josh Blake

A white sun hangs on the arch of heaven as purple mountains rest beneath a veil of dust. Shrubs sway, grasses wither, and sun-bleached skulls lie scattered across the desert floor. The Jornada del Muerto is many things: a parched basin at the northernmost reaches of the Chihuahuan Desert, a United States Department of Agriculture Read more about The Middle of Everywhere – Change is Center Stage In the Jornada Del Muerto – Sam Jurado[…]

Strengthening Tribal Water Futures in the Colorado River Basin – Alice Le Bihan

Posted on by Josh Blake

As the Colorado River Basin faces ongoing drought, increasing climate pressures, and the approaching 2026 negotiations that will determine the future of river management, decisions made today will shape water security across the American West for decades to come. Ongoing drought and escalating climate pressures are intensifying water scarcity throughout the Colorado River Basin. As Read more about Strengthening Tribal Water Futures in the Colorado River Basin – Alice Le Bihan[…]

Understanding Wind Erosion Caused by Thunderstorms in the Southwest – Sam Jurado

Posted on by Josh Blake

Wind erosion in the North American Southwest threatens human health, infrastructure, rangelands, and agricultural productivity, causing billions of dollars in damages each year. To better understand and address this challenge, Sam is collaborating with researchers at New Mexico State University, the United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS), and the U.S. Army Combat Read more about Understanding Wind Erosion Caused by Thunderstorms in the Southwest – Sam Jurado[…]

Measurement and Meaning of Mormon Cricket Outbreaks in the Intermountain West – Li Murphy

Posted on by Josh Blake

Li is conducting a multi-method study across Nevada, Idaho, and Utah to generate practical, sharable insights into Mormon cricket outbreaks, what contributing factors cause and drive them, and how they can best be studied. Project Deliverable Student Researcher Li Murphy – WCC Coordinator | Li is a Master of Environmental Science candidate funded by the Read more about Measurement and Meaning of Mormon Cricket Outbreaks in the Intermountain West – Li Murphy[…]

Ceramics is to Clay: What Pueblo Pottery Traditions Teach Us About Indigenous Environmental Relations – Carine Rofshus

Posted on by Josh Blake

Carine is studying pueblo pottery traditions in the U.S. Southwest and their insights into the resilience and survivance of cultural traditions despite environmental challenges. Her research focuses on indigenous connections to the environment expressed through the ceramics-making process and how potters themselves perceive environmental impacts on their work. Project Deliverable Student Researcher Carine Rofshus – Read more about Ceramics is to Clay: What Pueblo Pottery Traditions Teach Us About Indigenous Environmental Relations – Carine Rofshus[…]

Vegetative and Climatic Controls of Aboveground Net Primary Production and Radiation Use Efficiency Along a North to South Transect in the Western Great Plains – Isabella Goodman

Posted on by Josh Blake

Isabella is studying seven sites along a latitudinal gradient spanning nearly 1,800 miles from Kyle, Saskatchewan, Canada, to Marfa, Texas. She is using an ecosystem water balance model to estimate soil moisture to be used in linear models to determine the climatic vs. vegetative controls of radiation use efficiency along the latitudinal gradient in the Read more about Vegetative and Climatic Controls of Aboveground Net Primary Production and Radiation Use Efficiency Along a North to South Transect in the Western Great Plains – Isabella Goodman[…]

Investigating Soil Organic Matter in a Disturbed Big Sagebrush Ecosystem of Southwestern Wyoming – Myroslav Bur

Posted on by Josh Blake

Myroslav’s research quantified differences in soil organic matter (SOM) across seventeen reclaimed well pads and adjacent undisturbed big sagebrush areas (reference areas). Two 80-meter transects were established at each site, extending 40 meters into the reclaimed well pad and 40 meters into the reference area. Along each transect, six soil samples were collected from both Read more about Investigating Soil Organic Matter in a Disturbed Big Sagebrush Ecosystem of Southwestern Wyoming – Myroslav Bur[…]

Researching Grasshoppers Makes Me a Better (Prospective) Lawyer – Alexia Zolenski

Posted on by Josh Blake

I never wanted to be a lawyer. It’s true. To me, the best lawyers typically don’t want to be lawyers. They want to effectuate some sort of change, see the law as a tool to do so, and if you’re like me, find yourself in Torts, tapping your Chaco on the ground, looking out the Read more about Researching Grasshoppers Makes Me a Better (Prospective) Lawyer – Alexia Zolenski[…]

Limiting that One Bad Year – Jackson Newman

Posted on by Josh Blake

Grassland conservation depends on ranching. So, with the number of ranches dwindling across the West, and more land being developed every day, how do we support the sustainability of existing ranching operations? In my mind, sustainability in ranching is a two-sided coin. On one side, we must work to fix the market dynamics that make Read more about Limiting that One Bad Year – Jackson Newman[…]

Coalition Building in the Blackfoot Watershed – Salma Huque

Posted on by Josh Blake

My research project this academic year, in collaboration with fellow Ucross researcher Owen Luo, is to estimate the economic benefits of the Blackfoot Challenge’s public-private partnerships on the local community. The Blackfoot Challenge is a Western Montana nonprofit working with private landowners to undertake collaborative conservation and stewardship solutions. In contrast to the physical conservation Read more about Coalition Building in the Blackfoot Watershed – Salma Huque[…]