Stakeholders discuss increasing tribal co-management of public lands during a workshop March 27, 2023, in Washington, D.C.
A New Initiative Aims to Increase Tribal Co-Management of Public Lands
There are more than 600 million acres of public lands in the U.S. of which 100 million acres are Indigenous lands. The Yale Center for Environment Justice, in partnership with The Forest School, recently launched an initiative aimed at increasing tribal co-management of public lands, and in support of President Biden’s executive order that 30% of public lands and oceans be preserved by 2030.
To kick off the initiative, YCEJ and TFS held a workshop at the Wilderness Society in Washington, D.C., examining the current co-management of Bears Ears National Monument and Columbia Rivers fisheries. Participants, including stakeholders from tribal communities, the federal government, and conservation groups, discussed how co-management techniques employed at the two sites could be replicated elsewhere as well as what type of reforms are needed to achieve sustainable oversight of public lands nationally. The recommendations will be included in a white paper that will be published in early 2024.
YSE Lecturer Pat Gonzales Rogers, who is co-leading the initiative, emphasized the importance of increasing tribal representation in land management and cited lack of staffing, funding, and equipment as among the most significant barriers to achieving greater parity in land management leadership.
“Tribal co-management is truly a force multiplier. It places real decision making in the hands of our original stewards. It allows for traditional knowledge to instruct the management of our large landscapes, and it provides real license and agency for Native communities to practice their theology and cultural traditions in a meaningful way. It is effective and practical environmental justice in real time,” Gonzales-Rogers says.
Patrick Gonzalez-Rogers
Lecturer
More News in Brief
Five YSE Faculty Members Named to 2025 ‘Highly Cited Researchers’ List
Five Yale School of the Environment faculty members have been named to the world’s most influential researchers list by Clarivate Analytics, a company that compiles a list of scientists and social scientists whose papers rank in the top 1% of citations.
Included on this year’s list were: Mark Bradford, the E.H. Harriman Professor of Soils and Ecosystem Ecology; Xuhui Lee the Sara Shallenberger Brown Professor of Climate Science; Anthony Leiserowitz, the JoshAni-TomKat Professor of Climate Communication; Peter Raymond, the Oastler Professor of Biogeochemistry; and Karen Seto, the Frederick C. Hixon Professor of Geography and Urbanization Science. In total, 49 faculty members from Yale University made the list of 6,868 researchers worldwide.
Mark Bradford
E.H. Harriman Professor of Soils and Ecosystem Ecology
Xuhui Lee
Sara Shallenberger Brown Professor of Climate Science
Anthony Leiserowitz
JoshAni-TomKat Professor of Climate Communication; Director of the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (YPCCC)
Peter A. Raymond
Oastler Professor of Biogeochemistry; Co-Director, Yale Center for Natural Carbon Capture
Karen Seto
Frederick C. Hixon Professor of Geography and Urbanization Science; Director of the Hixon Center for Urban Sustainability; Co-Director of the Yale Center for Geospatial Solutions
YSE Urban Scientist Receives Franklin Institute Award
Karen Seto, the Frederick C. Hixon Professor of Geography and Urbanization Science, has received a 2026 Franklin Institute Award for her work on urban issues.
The Institute honored Seto for her “pioneering work integrating satellite imagery, modeling methods, and social sciences to analyze the consequences of urbanization, land use, and global environmental change.” The award is one of the oldest in the nation.
“The 2026 laureates embody the same remarkable spirit of curiosity, ingenuity, and discovery that defined our nation’s founding,” said Larry Dubinski, President and CEO of The Franklin Institute.
Seto, a world renown geographer, was coordinating lead author of two U.N. climate change reports and co-led chapters on how urban areas can mitigate climate change. Her research developed the first forecasts of urban land expansion globally.
Seto is one of eight recipients of the award, which will be given during a ceremony April 30, 2026, in Philadelphia.
"I’m deeply honored by the award, especially given past recipients in the category of earth and environmental science. I’m also grateful for all my students and postdocs in the lab. This award is a celebration of our collective work," Seto said.
Karen Seto
Frederick C. Hixon Professor of Geography and Urbanization Science; Director of the Hixon Center for Urban Sustainability; Co-Director of the Yale Center for Geospatial Solutions
New Haven Promise Interns Gain Experience in Forest and Wetland Data Analysis
Four undergraduate students from New Haven received field training this summer at YSE through the New Haven Promise program. The students assisted on a range of projects focused on biogeochemistry, hydrology, forest health and forest restoration.
The program, which began in June and ended in August, supports paid internships to help students gain work experience in their respective fields of study.
Working with research scientist Marlyse Duguid, KeRen Tan ’28 inventoried invasive plant species for the Yale Golf Course and Preserve, examined the impacts of Beech Leaf Disease (BLD) on New Haven’s urban forests, and took height measurements of planted trees in an Urban “Miyawaki Micro Forest” project.
Kaleb Diaz Alvarez, Mark Taylor, and Erica Arias, worked with Professor Peter Raymond and postdoctoral fellow Craig Brinkerhoff on hydrology projects in Connecticut and Massachusetts, exploring the role of river wetlands connectivity on downstream water quality. They learned to “read a river,” annotate images of rivers across the U.S. and helped train AI models.
Clockwise:
From left: Erica Arias, Mark Taylor, and Kaleb Diaz Alvarez measure the alkalinity of water samples taken from a mangrove river in the Florida Everglades in the Raymond biogeochemistry lab.
KeRen Tan ’29 takes height measurements of planted trees for an urban Miyawaki Micro Forest project.
Alvarez (left) and YSE postdoc Craig Brinkerhoff (right) measure a headwater stream's flowing width in Guilford, CT.