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.
September 12, 2023
Patrick Gonzalez-Rogers
Lecturer
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UK Lawmakers Visit Yale to Explore Nature-Based Climate Solutions Up Close
The Yale Hixon Center for Urban Sustainability recently hosted a delegation of Members of the British Parliament as part of a four-day Connecticut visit organized by the British American Parliamentary Group. The six MPs met with Karen Seto, the Frederick C. Hixon Professor of Geography and Urbanization Science, to discuss climate policy, urbanization, and the role of cities in addressing climate change.
The visit included a tour of New Haven’s bioswales. Bioswales are a landscaping feature designed to slow, filter, and redirect stormwater runoff, slowly filtering it through sediment into the groundwater or allowing it to be absorbed by native plants. They help prevent flooding and reduce pollution that would otherwise flow into rivers and streams. The Urban Resources Initiative has partnered with the city to help lead the construction and management of the bioswales. Approximately 200 bioswales have been installed across downtown New Haven through this broader effort, with about 50 adjacent to Yale’s campus.
“Seeing the bioswale presented me with a simple and effective option I want to take back and suggest to my local authority. Not only would it alleviate flooding problems, but it could also be an attractive green feature that could enhance areas, " said Christine Jardine, Member of Parliament for Edinburgh West.
The visit also provided an opportunity to explore collaboration between UK policymakers, the City of New Haven, and YSE on sustainability and climate resilience initiatives.
March 27, 2026
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
Colleen Murphy-Dunning
Program Director, Hixon Center for Urban Sustainability, Urban Resources Initiative (URI); Lecturer in Urban and Community Forestry
YSE Doctoral Candidate Honored with ESA Policy Award
Jonathan Gewirtzman, a doctoral candidate in ecosystem ecology and biogeochemistry, has received the 2026 Katherine S. McCarter Graduate Student Policy Award from the Ecological Society of America. He is one of 20 students from universities across the U.S. to be honored with the award.
Recipients of the award travel to Washington, D.C. for policy, communication and career training and they meet with lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
Gewirtzman, a National Science Foundation Research Fellow, investigates greenhouse gas cycling in forests and wetlands aimed at informing strategies for mitigating natural emissions and enhancing nature-based climate solutions.
“ESA has been an important community for me throughout my graduate career — a place to connect with ecologists across subfields and to build leadership experience as an officer of the Biogeosciences Section. I'm excited for the opportunity to learn firsthand from scientists and policymakers working at that interface,” Gewirtzman said.
February 19, 2026
