Fostering land stewardship and conservation in the American West
through teaching, research, outreach and leadership.
program impacts 2021
Ucross High Plains Stewardship Initiative (UHPSI) within the Yale School of the Environment focuses on stewardship and conservation in the American West. At its core, UHPSI seeks to engage in teaching, research, and outreach on land stewardship, primarily through mentoring students on applied research and management projects with western partners.
OUR TEAM
Justin Farrell, PhD
Michelle Downey, MS
Current Students
Latest news
Learning About Place—Julia Chen
I spent over a week in Wyoming and Idaho this spring learning about the environmental issues and organizations working towards solutions. From meeting the housing advocacy group Shelter JH to Wyoming Game and Fish, I began to think about how lived experience influences why we work on the issues we care about and persist. This Read more about Learning About Place—Julia Chen[…]
A “Generational Moment” for Land Conservation—Kathleen Voight
After two semesters working closely with the Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust (CCALT) Additive Conservation subcommittee, I was excited to support the launch of the Agricultural Resiliency Fund (ARF). The ARF is an internally-managed fund that supports landowner projects to improve agricultural viability and conservation values on properties that hold CCALT easements. I partnered with Read more about A “Generational Moment” for Land Conservation—Kathleen Voight[…]
A Brief Look at NDVI—Sam Wilson
Over the last eight months at Ucross High Plains Stewardship Initiative, our team developed a set of tools to assist in monitoring areas surrounding beaver dam installations in eastern Montana using remote sensing. One of these tools is focused on calculating normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) across an area of interest and how it is Read more about A Brief Look at NDVI—Sam Wilson[…]
Landscape Vegetation Analysis (LaVA) in Southern Wyoming—Jake Barker
One project in particular in Wyoming has emerged in the national conversation concerning public forest management. The Medicine-Bow Routt and Thunder Basin Grassland National Forest (MBRTB) manages forest and grassland in Wyoming and Colorado, and is several years into the implementation of a landscape-scale forest resilience project. Supported by the 2003 Healthy Forests Restoration Act, Read more about Landscape Vegetation Analysis (LaVA) in Southern Wyoming—Jake Barker[…]
Gaining a Deeper Understanding of Ecosystems Through Collaboration—Rowan Sharkey
The past year working with the Ucross High Plains Stewardship Initiative has presented a wide range of experiences, connections, and memories that I find carrying me forward on the path of conservation. Throughout this process, our team has been fortunate enough to collaborate with incredible partners such as The Nature Conservancy-MT, World Wildlife Foundation, and Read more about Gaining a Deeper Understanding of Ecosystems Through Collaboration—Rowan Sharkey[…]
2022 Annual Report
Check our UHPSI’s newly released 2022 Annual Report! Read about student projects, impacts, and journeys from the past year.
Making the Case for Cattle—Kathleen Voight
Championing the ecological importance of cattle grazing doesn’t always land well in environmental groups. Pushback often quotes methane emissions, a warming climate, societal collapse and so on. Yet, across rural areas of the western United States, entire communities depend on cattle. Over one-third of the land area of the United States is rangeland, undeveloped land Read more about Making the Case for Cattle—Kathleen Voight[…]
Out in the Cold—Delaney Heileman
On December 31, 2020, the Kayenta Coal mine in Arizona officially closed its doors, bringing an end to nearly 40 years of operation on the Navajo Nation. While the closure of the mine has been met with a mix of emotions, there is no denying the significant impact it has had on the Hopi people, Read more about Out in the Cold—Delaney Heileman[…]
Evaluating Mesic Restoration Efforts in Montana with Geospatial Tools
In conjunction with The Nature Conservancy-Montana (TNC), Montana Conservation Corps (MCC), and World Wildlife Fund (WWF), our team is creating a protocol to evaluate the impacts of low-tech structures, sometimes referred to as beaver dam analogs, that have been installed in central Montana. This protocol will leverage GIS and remote sensing technologies, challenging our team Read more about Evaluating Mesic Restoration Efforts in Montana with Geospatial Tools[…]
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[…]
Restoration Through Ecological Forestry—Jake Barker
As we examine the complex system of forests, management, and wood products in Wyoming, we are finding that the mosaic of forest type, ownership, and industry infrastructure drive past, current, and future forest restoration. Wyoming’s forests are scattered across the state in five main pockets. Northwestern Wyoming is home to the cultural and ecological behemoth Read more about Restoration Through Ecological Forestry—Jake Barker[…]
Utilizing Geospatial Analysis to Increase Water Availability in the American West—Rowan Sharkey
Being a research assistant with the Ucross High Plains Stewardship Initiative at YSE has afforded me a variety of opportunities to expand my knowledge in the field of mesic restoration in the western United States. Focusing on a region that is highly susceptible to drought events creates an interesting challenge when tracking water availability. The Read more about Utilizing Geospatial Analysis to Increase Water Availability in the American West—Rowan Sharkey[…]