Author: Josh Blake

Op-Ed Published in the SL Tribune: Making the Case to Rename Mormon Crickets – Li Murphy

Posted on by Josh Blake

Yesterday, Yale School of the Environment student Li Murphy, a Western Resource Fellow with the Ucross High Plains Stewardship Initiative, published an op-ed in The Salt Lake Tribune calling for a rethinking of how we name and relate to “Mormon crickets” in the American West. The piece explores the ecological, cultural, and political stakes of Read more about Op-Ed Published in the SL Tribune: Making the Case to Rename Mormon Crickets – Li Murphy[…]

Some Favorites from a Summer in the Field – Isabella Goodman

Posted on by Josh Blake

This past summer I drove from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan to Marfa, Texas. This wasn’t your typical summer road trip. This was a field work campaign where we sampled herbaceous biomass (grasses and forbs) and collected soil samples to estimate aboveground net primary production and radiation use efficiency along a latitudinal temperature gradient.    During this field Read more about Some Favorites from a Summer in the Field – Isabella Goodman[…]

A Legal System for Everyone: My Summer at Cottonwood Environmental Law Center – Bella Amell

Posted on by Josh Blake

As the first in my family to attend college, the legal system is admittedly very intimidating to me. Even considering going to law school feels like a massive undertaking. An undertaking that I, as someone born and raised in a small town, feel massively underprepared to take on. The pre-law students I know are mostly Read more about A Legal System for Everyone: My Summer at Cottonwood Environmental Law Center – Bella Amell[…]

Clipping My Way Through the Sagebrush Sea – Jianing Tian

Posted on by Josh Blake

Fieldwork always sounds romantic and serene from the outside: wide open skies, fresh air and soft breezes, fragrant sagebrush, and a mischievous choir of tiny creatures. But when your main task is clipping grasses and forbs for biomass, the reality is often more like an endurance activity, especially when you’re up against certain “special” plants Read more about Clipping My Way Through the Sagebrush Sea – Jianing Tian[…]

From the Field to the Lab Furnace: Wrapping Up Soil Sampling in Wyoming – Myroslav Bur

Posted on by Josh Blake

As summer winds down, so does the fieldwork portion of my research in Pinedale, Wyoming. The past weeks have been filled with long days in the sun, navigating sagebrush, and collecting soil samples from gas fracking sites—but the lab work is just beginning. With field sampling complete, I’m now turning to the lab phase at Read more about From the Field to the Lab Furnace: Wrapping Up Soil Sampling in Wyoming – Myroslav Bur[…]

Reciprocity & the Research Process – Carine Rofshus

Posted on by Josh Blake

Pueblo pottery signifies a reciprocal relationship between humans and clay, which is considered a sacred gift from Mother Earth. Before gathering clay, permission is asked, a prayer, and an offering are given to the Earth. Nuch-ochu-quijo, Unripe-earth-old-lady, then joins the potter in the creation process to form a new being, who takes its form as Read more about Reciprocity & the Research Process – Carine Rofshus[…]

First Month in the Field and Yellowstone Trip – Myroslav Bur

Posted on by Josh Blake

My first time stepping onto the soil of sagebrush-dominated steppe was a breathtaking experience for me, someone who grew up among the limitless forests of northern Ukraine. The contrast between this arid, open, mountainous landscape and the dense woods commonly observed during my entire lifetime still leaves me with admiration. Seeing the Wind River Range Read more about First Month in the Field and Yellowstone Trip – Myroslav Bur[…]

Mormon Cricket Virtual Reality and My Fieldwork Roadside Reality Show (with an Audience of Usually No One) – Li Murphy

Posted on by Josh Blake

They Call Me the Cricket Drifter This summer, I’m investigating the behavioral ecology of Anabrus simplex, also known, perhaps regrettably, as the Mormon cricket*. Locally, I’ve become known as “The Cricket Lady” and, more dubiously, “The Bug Gut Drifter,” thanks to an experiment involving a slick of hemolymph and my truck during a rainstorm. (A Read more about Mormon Cricket Virtual Reality and My Fieldwork Roadside Reality Show (with an Audience of Usually No One) – Li Murphy[…]

Estimating Herbaceous ANPP with the Monteith Model: Filtering Shrubs Using STL—Jianing Tian

Posted on by Josh Blake

Over the past few months, I have been working on the estimation of aboveground net primary production (ANPP) of herbaceous plants in the Jonah Field, Wyoming. To achieve this, I applied the Monteith model, which relates plant productivity to absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (APAR), incident solar radiation (PAR) and radiation use efficiency (RUE). Specifically, I Read more about Estimating Herbaceous ANPP with the Monteith Model: Filtering Shrubs Using STL—Jianing Tian[…]

Environmental Law as a Catalyst for Justice: Bridging Legal Frameworks and Grassroots Advocacy in Bozeman, Montana – Bella Amell

Posted on by Josh Blake

This summer, Bella is working with Cottonwood Environmental Law Center, a nonprofit organization based in Bozeman, Montana. Cottonwood aims to protect the people, forests, water, and wildlife of the American West primarily through conversation lawsuits and educational campaigns. Her work is focused on prosecuting the Yellowstone Club for dumping treated sewage into the Gallatin River, Read more about Environmental Law as a Catalyst for Justice: Bridging Legal Frameworks and Grassroots Advocacy in Bozeman, Montana – Bella Amell[…]

Ceramics is to Clay: Pueblo Connections to the Environment and Cultural Continuity – Carine Rofshus

Posted on by Josh Blake

Pueblo pottery is a tangible element of ancestral ties to place and cultural continuity that is used to protect cultural landscapes. These landscapes face ongoing threats due to environmental contamination, energy development, and water management initiatives. Carine’s research aims to understand the reciprocal relationship between ceramics and the environment through understanding the process-of-making pottery as Read more about Ceramics is to Clay: Pueblo Connections to the Environment and Cultural Continuity – Carine Rofshus[…]

Why did the Mormon cricket cross the road? Ask the people that live there – Li Murphy

Posted on by Josh Blake

In the Intermountain West, outbreaks of Mormon crickets (Anabrus simplex) are more than a nuisance—they are a reminder of the unruly rhythms of nature. Their sudden appearances can stall traffic, damage crops, and stir old stories, impacting not just the economy but the rhythms and relationships of life in the Great Basin. This research combines Read more about Why did the Mormon cricket cross the road? Ask the people that live there – Li Murphy[…]

Considering Water Allocation Models in Climate Vulnerable Regions – Alaina Geibig

Posted on by Josh Blake

Water scarcity has long shaped western water law. This system, called prior appropriation, determines who can use surface water, how much, when, and for what purpose. Prior appropriation, founded by westward settler ideologies, reinforces unequal access to water and risk of scarcity among water users- especially during periods of shortage. Due to the development of Read more about Considering Water Allocation Models in Climate Vulnerable Regions – Alaina Geibig[…]

Fire Training with Fire SIG – Nate McMullen

Posted on by Josh Blake

When Josie Valette and I took over as co-managers of the Fire Student Interest Group (SIG) last spring, we agreed on a goal: squeeze every drop out of the unique leadership opportunity we possibly could. The potential for educational and professional programming was limitless, and we wanted to make the most of it. So when Read more about Fire Training with Fire SIG – Nate McMullen[…]

Harnessing Wildland Firefighting for Risk Mitigation and Resiliency – Aidan Lyde

Posted on by Josh Blake

The sky turned a muted orange. Then the ash started falling. It fell down from the sky like snowflakes, coating every surface in a blackened soot. The wind picked up, carrying twirling debris along with it. A smoky haze filled the air that clutched your throat and stung your eyes. Noon became midnight, and for Read more about Harnessing Wildland Firefighting for Risk Mitigation and Resiliency – Aidan Lyde[…]