UW in the News

State, national and international media frequently feature the University of Wyoming and members of its community in stories. Here is a summary of some of the recent coverage:

Newsweek and The Atlantic were among media outlets noting research by regional scientists, including a UW research team, that discovered that Yellowstone’s migrating bison manipulate springtime green-up through grazing patterns. Yahoo! News India, National Parks Traveler, Daily Mail, Oil City News, Coyotes, Wolves and Cougars Forever!, Breitbart and ABC Fox Montana also published similar articles related to UW’s release.

CGTN America, part of the China Global Television Network, aired a story about Chinese students who are training with UW’s Nordic ski team. The exchange is a result of UW’s agreement signed earlier this year with the Shanghai University of Sport.

Gov. Mark Gordon, who will present his overall budget to the Legislature, did not approve all of UW’s $65.8 million budget increase requests for the biennium, reported The Laramie Boomerang.

The Casper Star-Tribune (CS-T) noted that a surge in natural gas production nationwide, coupled with declining prices, have put energy operators in Wyoming in a bind, as competition could have jarring consequences for the state’s economy. UW economist Rob Godby’s data report on the related topic was cited in the article. He made similar comments in an Energy Wire News article and also with Wyoming Public Media.

The CS-T published a column contributed by Godby and UW agricultural economist Roger Coupal, titled
“Wyoming’s mineral tax trap creates tough choices.”

Route Fifty, a publication that connects the leaders and ideas advancing state and local governments across America, interviewed Godby about Wyoming’s declining coal industry. The article focused on coal-producing states attempting to export coal to Asian markets through West Coast ports.

The Boomerang reported that the UW Board of Trustees approved the purchase of approximately 1,233 acres or about 20 percent of the Pilot Hill Project land east of Laramie. The purchase, for $2.3 million, will preserve the land as a recreational area and preserve the Casper Aquifer, a major source of Laramie’s drinking water. Laramie Live published UW’s release on its website.

UW economist Jason Shogren penned a piece for WyoFile focusing on the state’s future as Wyoming faces an economic transition. Shogren’s article is among six articles in WyoFile’s “Re-regulation” special edition.

UW Department of Anthropology Chair Todd Surovell was interviewed by the University of Arkansas’ public radio station, KUAF, about his research into the nomadic reindeer herders of Mongolia. Surovell delivered the school’s annual Stigler Lecture in Anthropology and Archaeology series talk.

KUER public radio in Salt Lake City published a Wyoming Public Radio story in which UW economist Chuck Mason discussed how the Mountain West has struggled to see significant growth in natural gas price increases because of being farther away from where the demand is and lack of better export facilities. He adds that Wyoming also will not see as much growth because of geology increasing prices.

UW’s School of Energy Resources hopes to collaborate with the Department of Energy on researching the extraction of rare earth elements in Campbell County, The Gillette News Record reported.

The Gillette News Record also cited a UW study that published the economic benefits to the state from hunting, fishing and wildlife.