Collaboration Program in natural resources
The Collaboration Program in Natural Resources (CPNR) provides professional training for a cohort of mid- and upper-level natural resource decision makers and engaged citizens. In six rigorous sessions, participants will gain skills and knowledge to apply collaborative processes to complex environment and natural resource challenges to build lasting, supported solutions. We accept 12 to 18 participants into the program each year on a rolling basis. Applications open in January of each year.
Process Facilitation and Stakeholder engagement
We provide neutral, third-party facilitation and mediation services to help communities resolve natural resource challenges. Our collaborative decision-making experts bring decades of experience to guide stakeholders through processes to build inclusive, lasting solutions. Contact Ruckelshaus Institute Director Melanie Armstrong to learn more about our services.
Recent and Past projects
The Ruckelshaus Institute entered into a 5-year contract with the USDA Forest Service’s Mountain Planning Services Group to support forest planning in our region. A team including faculty, post-docs, and graduate students has been working on planning processes on the Bridger-Teton and the Manti-La Sal National Forests. Our work has ranged from planning public engagement strategies to facilitating meetings with cooperating agencies, resulting in excellent applied project experience for students pursuing our minor in collaboration.
In November 2024, the Ruckelshaus Institute—on behalf of The Nature Conservancy with funding from the Walton Family Foundation—convened a two-day, in-person, multi-stakeholder workshop examining the implications of the Bureau of Land Management’s proposed Conservation and Landscape Health Rule, also known as the Public Lands Rule. The workshop's roughly two dozen participants brought expertise in law, policy, economics, biology and ecology, restoration, communication, administration and land management. They represented interests that included the BLM, conservation, oil and gas development, local government and grazing.
The workshop began by trying to understand the social, ecological and political circumstances that led to the creation of the Public Lands Rule. Small groups then turned to addressing specific questions posed by The Nature Conservancy, which sought to better understand parts of the rule, in particular restoration and mitigation leasing. The groups discussed the potential implications of the rule for various interest groups and, in some cases, brainstormed ways to achieve more mutually beneficial outcomes. Discussion prompts asked if and how restoration and mitigation leasing expands the currently available toolbox for conservation and what risks this work carries; what mechanisms exist or could be created to protect the interests of existing rights holders; and if and how restoration and mitigation leasing could provide economic benefit to rural communities and current public lands users.
Based on the workshop discussions and their own research, pre-selected workshop participants later prepared briefs responding to each discussion question. The views expressed in these briefs are the authors’ own and do not reflect the views of the workshop participants or the convening, publishing or funding organizations.
In 2011, The Bureau of Land Management’s Rock Springs Field Office initiated a revision of its Resource Management Plan, the guiding document for land use planning. In 2023, the BLM released its Draft Resource Management Plan (RMP) and Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), selecting Alternative B as the preferred alternative. The draft RMP says that Alternative B “emphasizes conservation of resource values with constraints on resource use” (ES-3, Draft RMP).
In response to public outcry about the agency’s preferred alternative, Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon assembled a task force representing diverse Wyoming interests—Wyoming House of Representatives, Wyoming Senate, conservation, economic development and tourism, livestock, local government, mining, motorized access, oil and gas, renewable energy and utilities, and sportsmen and hunting—and charged the task force with developing consensus recommendations for revising the Draft RMP to meet the needs of Wyoming stakeholders.
Those consensus recommendations—which all task force members supported and which reflect the commitment of thousands of hours in pursuit of common ground—were submitted to the BLM as a comment on the Draft RMP and are publicly available on the project webpage. They include 24 agreements in principle, which allow the task force to speak broadly on critical issues, and more than 100 management prescriptions, which focus on specific management actions linked to one of the four RMP alternatives.
In 2023, the Bureau of Land Management released its Draft Resource Management Plan (RMP) and Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Rock Springs Field Office in Southwest Wyoming. In response, Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon asked the Ruckelshaus Institute to hold a series of interactive public workshops that would inform the deliberations of a task force he was assembling.
The workshops began with presentations about NEPA and Resource Management Planning processes, including recommendations on writing effective public comments. Then, participants went into breakout groups of 10-20 people and were asked what they valued about the landscape, what they would put in the RMP to protect those values, and how they would advise the task force to balance multiple interests. More than 300 participants shared their perspectives at the workshops, which were held November 17-18 in Rock Springs, Green River, and Farson. Nearly all respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the workshops provided a meaningful opportunity to share their perspectives, be heard, and engage with others.
Lead facilitator: Nicole Gautier
A trail charrette is a public meeting designed to engage residents in community recreation planning. Charrettes serve as a way of quickly generating a design solution while integrating the aptitudes and interests of a diverse group of people. In this case, Wyoming Pathways and the Ruckelshaus Institute convened and facilitated a trail charrette that asked Pinedale stakeholders for their input on improving and potentially expanding frontcountry, non-motorized recreation opportunities in their community.
Lead facilitator: John Burrows
Ruckelshaus Institute fellow John Burrows conducted a series of interviews to learn how Wyoming communities understand and see themselves taking part in the energy, climate, and economic changes that are happening in the state and to identify ways the Ruckelshaus Institute might support their efforts.
The project aimed to understand stakeholder perspectives on effective Wyoming community-based approaches for climate planning and adaptation amid a changing energy economy and whether and how Wyoming communities might respond to new opportunities and incentives tied to clean energy and emissions reduction, such as those in the Inflation Reduction Act.
Lead facilitator: Steve Smutko
The Ruckelshaus Institute convened a collaborative process to generate policy recommendations for renewable energy siting and permitting in Wyoming. The group met nine times between December 2020 and July 2021. In fall 2021, the group released ten recommendations directed at state leadership.
Lead facilitator: Nicole Gautier
The Ruckelshaus Institute worked with the Laramie Ranger District of the USDA Forest Service to facilitate a public planning process for non-motorized recreation on the Pole Mountain unit of the Medicine Bow Mountain National Forest. The project resulted in a Storymap that features US Forest Service data, data collected during volunteer events, and reports collected from the public that show points of interest and map trails. The Storymap also features audio-visual narratives submitted by users, which uses images and storytelling to illustrate user values and connection to the Pole Mountain area.
Using the Pole Mountain Gateways project as a case study, Haub School faculty published a journal article on using digital storytelling for planning purposes and created a best practices tool kit for pubic land managers interested in using digital storytelling to engage with local communities and the public. The toolkit provides a source of information about the value of digital storytelling, as well as step-by-step guide to doing it.
View the Pole Mountain Gateways webpage.
Read the Digital Storytelling for Public Land Management toolkit.
Lead facilitator: Jessica Western
The Ruckelshaus Institute facilitated a collaborative learning process spearheaded by the Teton Range Bighorn Sheep and Recreation Working Group to explore ways to balance the winter habitat needs of Teton Range bighorn sheep and backcountry winter recreation in the Tetons.
View the Teton Sheep Working Group website.
Read the Teton Range Bighorn Sheep and Winter Recreation Strategy Report.
Lead facilitator: Jessica Western
The Ruckelshaus Institute, in partnership with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Wyoming Wild Sheep Foundation, and the National Bighorn Sheep Interpretive Center, convened a public engagement process to explore management concerns, issues, and opportunities for the Whiskey Mountain Bighorn Sheep Herd in central Wyoming.
Lead facilitator: Deb Kleinman
Through a grant from the UW Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, the Ruckelshaus Institute partnered with the Dubois Regional Initiative for a Vital Economy, or Dubois DRIVE, to organize and facilitate an Outdoor Recreation and Economic Development Collaborative in Dubois, WY.
Lead facilitator: Deb Kleinman
The Wind River Outdoor Recreation Collaborative (or WRORC) began with a partnership between the Ruckelshaus Institute, Wyoming State Parks, Wyoming Outdoor Recreation, and local partners. The goal of the WRORC is to develop and promote outdoor recreation opportunities in and around Fremont County, and provide a plan to enhance Fremont County’s outdoor recreation assets and opportunities and quality of life for residents and visitors.
In 2019, the Ruckelshaus Institute Lander stakeholders convene a public trails charrette—an intensive planning session where people collaborate on a shared vision—and solicited comments online. A final report summarizes current conditions, explains the process, and summarizes system-wide needs related to four categories: Planning, Data & Info, Education & Use Management, and Other.
Read the Lander Trail Charrette Summary and Recommendations.
In late 2018, the Ruckelshaus Institute of Environment and Natural Resources at the University of Wyoming entered an agreement with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department to facilitate a collaborative process to explore management options and seek consensus regarding strategies to reduce the prevalence of Chronic Wasting Disease in Wyoming’s ungulate populations. The process produced 39 consensus recommendations, which the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission incorporated into its revised Final Chronic Wasting Disease Management Plan and approved on July 16, 2020.
Read the Chronic Wasting Disease Planning Collaborative Process Final Report.
The Ruckelshaus Institute completed its involvement with the Wyoming Public Lands Initiative in September 2018. Institute faculty and staff were assisting three WPLI advisory committees in Carbon, Sublette, and Teton Counties through their deliberations.
The Carbon County WPLI Advisory Committee reached a consensus recommendation for three of the four Wilderness Study Areas (WSAs) within their purview. The Carbon County Board of Commissioners voted to accept the recommendations of the advisory committee.
The Sublette County WPLI Advisory Committee could not reach agreement on final designation of the three Wilderness Study Areas in that county. In May 2018, they forwarded three separate recommendations for the Sublette County Board of Commissioners to consider. The Commission chose not to adopt any of the three.
The Teton County WPLI Advisory Committee was also unable to find a comprehensive solution that satisfied the interests of the 19 interest groups represented on that committee. In July 2018, the Advisory Committee forwarded three separate recommendations to the Teton Board of Commissioners each representing the desires of different stakeholder groups. The Commissioners voted to accept the one management prescription that was acceptable to all parties, which was to exempt energy development from all federally managed lands in the county.
Carbon County and Teton County forwarded their recommendations to the Wyoming County Commissioners Association for inclusion in a public lands bill to eventually be considered by Congress.
The purpose of the Grey’s River Forest Collaborative was to provide the federal, state and private land managers with recommendations to assess and address forest health, travel management and hydrology issues on the Grey’s River and neighboring districts.
The purpose of the Sublette Forest Collaborative was to provide the federal, state and private land managers with recommendations to assess and address the forest health issues on forests throughout Sublette County.
Visit the Sublette County Forest Collaborative webpage.
Read the Sublette County Forest Collaborative Recommendations.
In 2016, Wyoming Governor Matt Mead created the Outdoor Recreation Task Force to assess the state's outdoor recreation sector, its needs for the future, relationships with land access, and possible creation of an Office of Outdoor Recreation. The Ruckelshaus Institute's Jessica Western facilitated the 26-member group, guiding discussions, organizing information and presentations, and providing decision-making assistance. Together, the group developed 11 recommendations for the Governor's consideration.
In the summer of 2016, the Ruckelshaus Institute helped Wyoming Pathways and local trail advocates gather public input on non-motorized trails in the Pole Mountain area of the Medicine Bow National Forest. The groups held a public charrette, an intensive planning session where people collaborate on a shared vision, and solicited comments via social media, email, an interactive online map, and other formats.
In early 2015, the U.S. Forest Service approached the Ruckelshaus Institute to ask for assistance exploring stakeholder perspectives regarding prairie dog issues on the Thunder Basin National Grassland. The situation assessment revealed that stakeholders desired a collaborative process to address management questions in the grassland.
In 2016 and 2017, the Ruckelshaus Institute convened two series of Thunder Basin Collaborative Learning Workshops on behalf of the US Forest Service to engage stakeholders, to ensure that all parties were working from the same information, and to lay groundwork for future informed decision making about grasslands management. The results of these workshops informed the simultaneously convened Cooperative Working Group, which consisted of government entities with authority relating to prairie dog management.
In 2015, the Medicine Bow National Forest began preparing to update the road system on Pole Mountain, a unit of the forest between Laramie and Cheyenne. They asked the Ruckelshaus Institute to help solicit public input to inform their proposed updates. We did this by organizing four public meetings, soliciting comments via email and social media outreach, creating an interactive website where members of the public could leave comments, and producing five short videos of Forest Service staff explaining the road system. We presented the over 300 comments to the Forest Service in the form of a final report and GIS layers.
In October 2014, the Laramie County Commissioners created the Laramie County Control Area Steering Committee, charged with developing creative and effective options for reducing water use in the control area, and hired the Ruckelshaus Institute to facilitate the group’s meetings. In March 2016 the Steering Committee produced a Control Area Groundwater Management Plan, which contains recommendations on well spacing and static water level reporting, and the basic components of a financial incentives program for reducing groundwater consumption.
View the Laramie County Control Area Steering Committee webpage.
In response to a request from the Greater Yellowstone Coordinating Committee (GYCC), the Ruckelshaus Institute designed and facilitated a series of public listening sessions in Jackson, Wyoming; Bozeman, Montana; and Cody, Wyoming, in 2014-15. The goals were to improve existing relationships and create new relationships between the GYCC and stakeholders, to enhance the management effectiveness of the GYCC on ecosystem-scale issues, and to focus national attention on the issues, solutions, importance, and function of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
View the Greater Yellowstone Coordinating Committee website.
Governor Matt Mead created a Task Force on Forests in 2013 to study the benefits forests provide and to analyze and consider new response strategies and recommendations for both active and passive management. With leadership from the Ruckelshaus Institute’s Collaborative Solutions Program, the Task Force on Forests reached consensus on 12 major recommendations comprising 53 sub-recommendations for the Governor’s consideration.
In 2008, the US Forest Service updated its National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) procedures to permit a more iterative approach that facilitates collaborative public engagement. Iterative NEPA, or iNEPA, allows practitioners to incrementally improve proposed actions and alternatives to meet stakeholder interests. In 2014, this workshop brought together experienced NEPA practitioners to discuss integrating iNEPA into agency practice. The document outlines iNEPA, its legal foundations, collaborative approaches to the process, and opportunities and challenges related to iNEPA.
Read the Iterative NEPA and Collaboration Workshop proceedings
Teton Canyon in the Caribou-Targhee National Forest is treasured for its scenic values, recreation amenities, and abundant wildlife, but 100 years of fire exclusion has resulted in dense stands of timber, high loads of dead fuel on the forest floor, increased tree mortality, and unproductive wildlife habitat. The Teton Basin Ranger District proposed vegetation treatments and prescribed fire to reduce fuel loadings and create a more natural vegetative mosaic. The proposal generated significant public interest. In 2014 the Ruckelshaus Institute was asked to help convene public meetings to hear forest users’ concerns, gather information about what people value in the canyon, and learn what they might want to see the Forest Service do to improve conditions in the canyon.
More info: Teton Canyon Hazardous Fuels Reduction and Wildlife Habitat Improvement
Concerns about rampant wildlife mortality on roads in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem brought diverse stakeholders together. By 2013 much had been achieved, such as new signs and new wildlife crossing structures near Daniel Junction. To keep these efforts moving forward, the Ruckelshaus Institute was invited to facilitate strategy meetings, which evolved into the Safe Wildlife Crossings Collaborative, a citizen-led effort now incorporated into three non-profits and two local government entities. The Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance, the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, the Jackson Hole Wildlife Foundation, the Teton County Board of Commissioners, and the Teton Conservation District all assumed strategic plan objectives developed at these meetings.
In 2013 Dare County, North Carolina, sought to explore the feasibility of using a collaborative, science-based, stakeholder driven process to determine a solution to maintaining a safe navigable route through Oregon Inlet while also protecting the natural landscape of the Outer Banks. The county requested assistance from the Ruckelshaus Institute to conduct a stakeholder assessment. The purpose of the assessment was to evaluate whether this issue is amenable to collaborative problem solving.
In 2012 the Ruckelshaus Institute facilitated meetings of the Upper Green River Basin Citizens Advisory Air Quality Task Force, which submitted a set of consensus recommendations to the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality to address elevated ozone levels in the Upper Green River Basin.
View the Upper Green River Basin Citizens Advisory Air Quality Task Force webpage
In 2010, the Ruckelshaus Institute convened forest managers, scientists, and researchers from across the Intermountain West for a hands-on, two-day policy workshop on bark beetle infested forests to develop new ideas for post-epidemic forest conditions. The report generated from the workshop documents the recommendations and discussions to guide future management efforts.
Read the Bark Beetles in the Intermountain West Workshop proceedings
The Coalbed Methane Produced Water Working Group, composed of landowners, industry representatives, members of the conservation community, and agency personnel, was convened in December 2009 by the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). The group’s mandate was to assist in the development of a Coalbed Methane permitting strategy in a way that recognizes the serious and substantial interests of landowners, industry, and the state of Wyoming so that statutory water quality standards could be met. The Ruckelshaus Institute designed, organized, and facilitated the Working Group deliberation process.
With the rise of economically-feasible methods of extracting coalbed methane, concerns arose about an insufficient regulatory structure for CBM development and associated water management. The Wyoming Governor's Office asked the University of Wyoming to address a series of questions on options for dealing with water produced through coalbed methane development and the Ruckelshaus Institute produced a report with answers and context for these questions.
Read the Water Production from Coalbed Methane Development report
The Ruckelshaus Institute convened stakeholders to address winter recreation in the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests. A working group with 29 forest users generated management recommendations to increase recreational opportunities for winter users. A final report and recommendations led to an education initiative with new signage and maps, a collaborative grooming plan, new parking lot rules, as well as a Forest Service host program and volunteers for monitoring and recording winter use.
In 1999, the Ruckelshaus Institute, with the Center for the Rocky Mountain West, co-hosted a national workshop commissioned by the President's Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) on reclaiming NEPA'S potential. Participants included experts from government, industry, environmental organizations, and academia. The workshop led to recommendations to CEQ for improving NEPA implementation through application of collaborative processes.
