Registration Opens for UW Ruckelshaus Institute Forum on State Trust Land Management

The University of Wyoming’s Ruckelshaus Institute has opened registration for the 2025 Emerging Issue Forum on the role of state trust land in Wyoming’s present and future.

The forum will be held at UW’s Marian H. Rochelle Gateway Center Tuesday and Wednesday, April 22-23. The aim of the event is to build a shared understanding of state trust lands’ 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.

Registration is available at the forum website. The deadline to register is Monday, April 7.

“State trust lands are one of our country’s most unique land types, whose creation is tied up with the very foundations of our democracy,” says Birch Malotky, the Ruckelshaus Institute’s Emerging Issues Initiative coordinator. “In Wyoming, we’re seeing a wave of public interest in how they are used and managed that makes now the perfect opportunity to support increased awareness and collaboration around these 3.4 million acres.”

Trust lands are managed to make money for schools and other public institutions, typically by selling leases for oil and gas development, mining, grazing and logging, and through special-use leases and land sales. Wyoming’s trust lands generated more than $800 million from 2019-2023, the vast majority of which came from mineral leases and royalties, particularly oil and gas development.

Day one of the forum will begin with an overview of Wyoming state trust land history, purpose and current uses and management. In the afternoon, a panel will explore successes and challenges of managing trust lands in the context of surrounding private and federal land. Another panel will feature trust land managers from other Western states.

Day two of the forum will explore new and emerging uses of state trust lands. Topics include recreation; commercial and residential development; carbon capture; ecosystem service markets; and renewable energy development.

“State trust lands have often been overlooked or misunderstood, but there’s a growing understanding of their critical role in the ecosystem and the economic system,” says Travis Brammer, director of conservation at the Property and Environment Research Center (PERC), a sponsor of the forum. “PERC is excited to see this forum increase understanding of state trust lands and offer some opportunities to create significant value for the people who rely on the revenue those lands generate.”

For questions or to become a sponsor, email Malotky at bmalotky@uwyo.edu. 

The Ruckelshaus Institute, a division of the Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources, supports community-driven approaches to environmental challenges by advancing collaborative decision-making, convening discussions around emergent policy and management questions, and communicating insights and practical approaches to critical natural resource issues.

PERC is a national leader in creating market solutions for conservation, with over 40 years of pioneering research and a network of respected scholars and practitioners. PERC explores how aligning incentives for environmental stewardship produces sustainable outcomes for land, water and wildlife.