The Ruckelshaus Institute is a division of the Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources at UW.
The Haub School advances the understanding and resolution of complex natural resource challenges by communicating relevant research, facilitating collaborative solutions, and offering interdisciplinary academic programs.
Wyomingites have demonstrated a desire for healthy, open landscapes, vibrant communities, and growing economies. The Wyoming Open Spaces Initiative is a long-term project designed to support working landscapes for agriculture, wildlife, and sustainable communities through applied research, information, education, and community-based decision making.
The Open Spaces Initiative is a collaborative effort of the Ruckelshaus Institute of Environment and Natural Resources, the Wyoming Geographic Information Science Center, the Department of Agriculture and Applied Economics, University of Wyoming Extension, and the Wyoming Natural Diversity Database. The initiative supports Wyoming citizens' effective maintenance our state's open spaces through research, information, education, and decision-making assistance. The research group considers agricultural sustainability, community planning and development, wildlife, and other related cultural, economic, and environmental issues of importance to Wyoming.
Browse all the Open Spaces Initiative publications or visit the new maps library.
Published in 2009, "Wyoming's State of the Space" compiles eight years of collaborative research efforts by UW faculty for the Open Spaces Initiative. The report is a resource for local and state decision makers, planners, stakeholders, and the public.
The publication is authored by Diana Hulme, Chamois Andersen, Katelyn Parady, Jeff Hamerlinck, Scott Lieske, and Indy Burke.
"A December report from the UW Ruckelshaus Institute estimates the (Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resources) Trust generated more than 500 jobs annually and nearly $21 million dollars in labor earnings in Wyoming since 2006.
"Whether you hunt or fish, whether you are a stockgrower, or stockbroker, or just a person who relishes the outdoors and all it offers in Wyoming, our quality and way of life are tied to successful conservation efforts.
"I have included funding for the Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust in my budget recommendations and ask for support of this funding, for Ag, for conservation, for tourism and for energy -- all a big part of Wyoming’s future"
