Affiliated Faculty & Partners

Laurie Yung

Professor

Department: W.A. Franke College of Forestry & Conservation

University System: University of Montana - Missoula

Website(s): https://www.cfc.umt.edu/personnel/details.php?ID=1127

Professional Summary:

My teaching and research focus on the social aspects of conservation and natural resource management, with an emphasis on agricultural communities and public lands in the Northern Rockies. I’m interested in the ways in which private landowners, rural communities, and land management institutions navigate change. I often examine the intersections between ecological change, natural resource management, rural livelihoods, and governance innovations. Most of my current research focuses on climate adaptation and the food, energy, and water nexus.

My current research projects include:

• Improving the Efficacy of Climate and Water Information for Montana Agricultural Producers (funded by USDA NIFA Water for Agriculture program)
• The Co-Management of Cross-Boundary Fire Risk Transmission (funded by the USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station)
• Scenario Planning as a Tool for Climate Adaptation Planning and Governance (funded by the USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station)
• Natural Resource Management Decision-Making under Climate Uncertainty: Building Social-Ecological Resilience in Southwestern Colorado (funded by the North Central Climate Science Center)
• Futures Thinking, Uncertainty, and Governance at the Food-Energy-Water Nexus (funded by the Luc Hoffmann Institute)

I currently direct the interdisciplinary Resource Conservation major, the Montana Drought and Climate project, and the NSF-funded UM BRIDGES graduate training program. I also co-direct the Community Vulnerability Working Group, a collaboration with the US Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station.