The following resources are provided to be helpful to students, the public, and others who are interested in keeping up-to-date on public lands and related issues and doing their own research.
Public Lands News Resources
High Country News: High Country News is a nonprofit independent media organization that focuses on issues impacting the American West, including public lands. Note that some articles require a subscription, but many are available for free.
E&E News: E&E News is a news organization that provides articles on a variety of energy and environmental topics. Note that some articles require a subscription, but many new articles are free.
Public Lands Research Resources
Andrus Center for Public Policy: The Andrus Center for Public Policy is a nonprofit organization under Boise State University’s School of Public Service dedicated to providing independent, non-partisan policy formation on critical issues confronting Idaho, the American West, and the United States. It was founded by the late Governor and former U. S. Secretary of the Interior Cecil D. Andrus. White papers, transcripts from past conferences, and other publications can be found on the publications webpage.
Congressional Research Service (CRS): CRS is a legislative branch agency that provides nonpartisan research on topics of interest to Congress. A variety of reports are available on public lands issues, and can be found by using key terms such as “federal lands”, “public lands”, etc.
Headwaters Economics: Headwaters Economics is a nonprofit research group focusing on a variety of issues, including outdoor recreation and public lands. Their reports and interactive data are particularly helpful to those interested in the economic value of public lands, land ownership data, and other data-driven research.
Public Lands Foundation: Public Lands Foundation is a nonprofit that focuses on Bureau of Land Management public lands. The also host a student congress every two to three years and offer student scholarships.
Tribal Climate Change Project: A collaborative project at the University of Oregon with support from the USDA Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station, the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the North Pacific Landscape Conservation Cooperative
U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit & Moving Forward Together: Building Tribal Resiliency and Partnerships: The four member tribes of the Upper Snake River Tribes Foundation collaborated on a Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment, resulting in a quantified assessment of their shared concerns and establishment of a common foundation for future adaptation efforts.
USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US): PAD-US is America’s official national inventory of U.S. terrestrial and marine protected areas that are dedicated to the preservation of biological diversity and to other natural, recreation and cultural uses, managed for these purposes through legal or other effective means. Both users familiar and unfamiliar with geographical information systems (GIS) for a variety of uses, from locating protected areas in a certain area, to analyses on biodiversity conservation, public access, and more.