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Ruckelshaus Institute

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The Ruckelshaus Institute, a division of the Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources at the University of Wyoming, advances the understanding and resolution of complex environmental and natural resources challenges in the Mountain West. We support stakeholder-driven solutions to environmental challenges by conducting and communicating relevant research and promoting collaborative decision making.


Ruckelshaus Institute Programs 

 

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Collaborative Solutions

Our collaborative solutions work supports natural resource stakeholders, policy makers, and managers in making decisions about the future through trainings, forums, and decision-making support services. Learn more

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Communication and Publications

Ruckelshaus Institute outreach bridges science and policy to the people using it on the ground. Briefs, primers, and more support decisions and management for complex natural resource issues. Learn more

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Conferences and Forums

We convene conferences and forums that bring together stakeholders and decision-makers around natural resource issues that are important to the future of Wyoming and the West. Learn more

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Private Lands Stewardship

This program addresses the needs of landowners by drawing on expertise and interdisciplinary collaborations across natural resource management, rangeland ecology, business and finance, law, decision-making, collaborative processes, and other fields. Learn more

 

Current and Recent Projects

 

  • A flyer for the state trust land forum

    State Trust Land: An Emerging Issue Forum

    April 22-23, 2025 in Laramie, Wyoming

    Join us in exploring the role of state trust lands in Wyoming's present and future.

    Over two days, we will build a shared understanding of state trust land's unique responsibility to benefit public institutions and consider the potential of new and emerging uses to provide additional revenue streams while generating value for Wyoming's citizens.

     

    Visit the website to learn more and register >

  • The cover of Western Confluence, featuring lines of reindeer migrating across a snowy landscape

    Western Confluence Issue 14

    Available in print and online

    In every corner of the world, large ecosystems fostering diverse wildlife and complex species interactions sprawl over jurisdictional boundaries. They provide ecological wonders and societal benefits, but also present considerable management challenges and potential for conflict. Issue 14 of Western Confluence explores both these challenges and opportunities through stories told by professional journalists, as well as students, staff, and faculty at the University of Wyoming. 

    Read the issue online >

    View a PDF >

    Subscribe for free > 

  • A flyer for the wildlife conference

    Managing Wildlife in Large Lanscapes

    Oct 1-2, 2025 in Jackson Hole, Wyoming

    Join us for a global dialogue on the challenges, opportunities, and solutions for conserving and managing wildlife in large, complex landscapes around the world. The conference will bring managers, researchers, and conservationists from iconic landscapes across the planet to the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem in search of reciprocal learning both from and for this place.

    Visit the website to learn more and register >

 

About the Institute

 

Image of William D. Ruckelshaus

William D. Ruckelshaus came to UW in 1993 at the invitation of U.S. Sen. Alan Simpson to serve as founding chairman on the board of a new institute dedicated to collaborative problem solving for natural resource challenges. He was a proponent of bringing together diverse stakeholders—different kinds of people who would be affected by any management or policy decision—to engage in civil discourse about desired outcomes for natural resource challenges. The goal was to build inclusive, lasting decisions that could avoid future litigation.

More on William D. Ruckelshaus and the history of the Institute.

Sign up for the biannual Ruckelshaus Institute e-newsletter.

Donate to support the Ruckelshaus Institute mission.


Contact Us

Haub School of ENR

University of Wyoming
Bim Kendall House
804 E Fremont St
Laramie, WY 82072

Phone: (307) 766-5080
Fax: (307) 766-5099
Email: haub.school@uwyo.edu

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