March 9, 2020

Current Research


Local Payment for an Ecosystem-Service-Model for Working Lands Stewardship

The Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust (CCALT)
UHPSI research assistants are exploring possibilities of developing a payment-for-ecosystem services model to support stewardship of wet meadows using low-tech methods on conserved working lands in the Yampa Valley. By studying a variety of market-based funding mechanisms to inform a locally focused model, the team will create recommendations that may be used in the Yampa River Valley and may be applicable to other western watersheds. Read more…


A Monitoring Plan for Beaver Wellbeing and Hydrologic Impacts

Tensleep Preserve, The Nature Conservancy of Wyoming
Water for Wildlife

Effective ecological monitoring is a critical component of managing ecosystems in a way that balances the needs of people and wildlife. In collaboration with The Nature Conservancy – Wyoming (TNC) and the Water for Wildlife Foundation, UHPSI research assistant Alex Wells is developing a monitoring plan that will evaluate both beaver wellbeing and the impacts of this charismatic keystone species on downstream water rights at TNC’s Tensleep Preserve. Read more…