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 Laying Down the Law: A Campaign to Preserve the West[…]

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[…]

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.[…]

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[…]