Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative

04/14/2026

A recent feature in the Yellowstonian highlights our forthcoming Symposium as a “spring jamboree for conservation” and a meaningful gathering for those who care deeply about the future of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. We’re humbled by this recognition, and honored to facilitate this community gathering on April 30th.

We hope you will join us for a day of ideas, dialogue, and inspiration, and we kindly ask for registrations by Wednesday the 15th to support our planning. To learn more and register, visit: https://nrccooperative.org/2026-northern-rockies-conservation-symposium/

The Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative is hosting a one-day public symposium in Jackson Hole on April 30 that is blend of pep rally, reports about exciting science, celebration of good work and serious discussion about challenges facing one of the most iconic wildlife-rich ecosystems on Earth...

03/20/2026

The Northern Rockies Conservation Symposium is just around the corner! Join us on April 30 for what is shaping up to be our largest and most engaging gathering yet.

Visit the our webpage to register, learn more about the event, and consider a donation that will help make this timely gathering possible.

Center for the Arts Jackson Hole, WY | Thu, Apr 30th, 2026 Register Here The Northern Rockies Conservation Symposium, formerly known as the Jackson Hole Wildlife Symposium, is a biennial gathering of conservation professionals, community leaders, and learning networks from Jackson Hole, the Greater....

03/10/2026

Happy World Wolverine Day!

Wolverines are symbols of wilderness, habitat connectivity, and ecological resilience. They have enormous home ranges and can disperse hundreds of miles, crossing highways, rivers, and mountain ranges. They call us to think big, integrate science with management, reflect on limits, and imagine a better future for humans and wildlife.

NRCC's long history of work on the front lines of wolverine conservation is part of our organizational fabric, and today our Research Associate Rebecca Watters is the founder and director of the Mongolian Wolverine Project.

We're proud to celebrate this important carnivore today. To learn more about the wild and wonderful wolverine, visit worldwolverineday.org.

03/09/2026

Upcoming event announcement: NRCC Research Associate Corinna Riginos and Project Partner Charlotte Cadow are presenting on their cheatgrass work with The Nature Conservancy at the Old Wilson Schoolhouse on Tuesday March 10, at 5:00 PM. They will be discussing the widely recognized immediate need to fight the spread of cheatgrass in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and across the Sagebrush Sea of the western United States.

RSVP here: https://forms.microsoft.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=wW2-eY7Xu0uyK9mUwKQXpxyGHdJ5-VlEnUtiun7bzBdUMjVYQlZPU1lWUjhES1hPMVoyVDJTNzUyVy4u&origin=lprLink&route=shorturl

Photo by Brian Bitterfeld

08/26/2025

05/14/2025

The Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative established the Craighead Conservation Award in 2003 to honor the legacy of Frank and John Craighead. Our inaugural award that year was given to Steve Kilpatrick, who embodied the dedicated spirit of the Craighead brothers, as reflected in his significant contributions to conservation in the Yellowstone region. Steve's passing earlier this month is a great loss to the whole of the community, for people and wildlife.

Steve's dedication to wildlife spanned roles with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and as Executive Director for both the Wyoming Wildlife Federation and the Wyoming Wild Sheep Foundation. Among the long list of his achievement awards, Steve was inducted into the Wyoming Outdoor Hall of Fame earlier this spring.

We mourn Steve's passing, and take inspiration from his legacy of enduring dedication to creatures great and small, from the pocket gopher to the bighorn.

12/31/2024

We write on the eve of 2025, humbly asking that you consider a year-end donation to NRCC. What began 37 years ago as a grassroots collaborative for independent conservation researchers has expanded into a network of 60 interdisciplinary scholars, scientists, practitioners, artists, writers, students, and community leaders, working together in network, on the leading edge of conservation, on behalf of people and wildlife.

While we are far from alone in our work for environmental conservation, we are unique in our approach. We organize ourselves by our mission of “Conservation for the Common Good” because we know that coexistence is a high order good for the whole of the earth, society, and the well-being of generations past, present, and future. And we go about our work as such: bridging gaps across the spectrum of disciplines, grounded by values in democracy, justice, and dignity, and always working to expand both how and what we know.

A gift to NRCC supports a future where humans and wildlife coexist and thrive, and we thank you considering our organization among the many worthwhile endeavors you may be supporting today. nrccooperative.org/donate

We thank Ben Bluhm for the donated use of this image of a young cub, reminding us of the creatures great and small with whom we share this life and future.

Your support furthers human-wildlife coexistence in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and around the globe. We are a leading center of researchers, educators, leaders and students who want a world where humans and landscapes thrive. When you give to the Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative, you...

12/19/2024

It’s been one year since wolves were reintroduced to the mountains of Colorado. In this era of global de-wilding, the rewilding of the American West and the recovery of wolves offers a counter-narrative: a story of hope for the future, and a story of intergenerational responsibility. Behind Colorado’s recovery effort are two of NRCC’s hardworking Research Associates: Matt Barnes (Shining Horizons Land Management) and Rich Reading, Vice Chair of the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission.

Despite the acrimony often associated with wolves, Colorado is better prepared today than the Northern Rockies states were when wolves returned to the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem thirty years ago. That’s thanks in large part to agencies like Colorado Parks and Wildlife and Colorado Department of Agriculture, who, along with USDA Wildlife Services, and CSU Extension, hosted the conflict minimization training series.

In recognition of the one-year anniversary of the first release, Matt was interviewed by Denver's Channel 7. He expressed what is essential to the work ahead: “..the more we can try to understand why people do and don’t want [wolves], and what the underlying world views are that are informing those opinions, I think the more likely we’ll get to better solutions in the end.”

We applaud Matt and Rich’s tireless commitment to the people, lands, waters, and wildlife of Colorado, and to the vision of a future where carnivores and people coexist.

The accomplishments, uproar and simple novelty of Colorado's first wolf reintroduction exactly one year ago captured the attention of the state, but controversy keeps following the program.

12/02/2024

Our Writer-in-Residence, Todd Wilkinson, spoke with CBS Sunday Morning about the conservation legacy of Ted Turner, the largest private landowner in Greater Yellowstone. Ted’s vast network of wildlands are managed in step with nature: his 50,000 head of bison roam the landscape alongside endangered species, including predators often believed incongruent with working lands operations. As the Sunday Morning piece tells, Ted continues to explore a new story for how we use and manage the lands under our care, now by opening his ranches for tourism.

Todd’s book, Last Stand: Ted Turner's Quest to Save a Troubled Planet, is a history of Ted’s life as a leading conservationist.

As one of the largest landholders in America, media mogul and philanthropist Ted Turner has over decades restored struggling species like the American Bison and rebuilt biodiversity on his two million acres. Now, Turner is opening some of his land to visitors, creating almost overnight what amounts....

11/27/2024

We’re thrilled to announce new leadership at NRCC: Katie Christiansen has been appointed our Executive Director. Katie’s affiliation with NRCC has spanned a decade, and you may know her through her work as one of NRCC’s esteemed Experts-in-Residence. From Board Chair Peyton Griffin: “Katie is deeply committed to and knowledgeable about NRCC. She continues our legacy of conservation leadership and brings creative, new ideas to our programs, network, and partnerships. Please join us in welcoming Katie."

Katie writes: “For 37 years, NRCC has established its legacy as a world-class center of research, education, and conservation. Across my tenure from Wyss Conservation Intern to Research Associate to Expert-in-Residence, I’ve experienced firsthand NRCC’s transformative power and what sets this organization apart from all others. In short, what sets NRCC apart is its promise for the future. I believe there may be no time more critical than now to elevate the place and ideas that are NRCC, and it’s an honor to be passed this torch of leadership.”

Katie brings 15 years of conservation leadership experience to the position. Her past roles have included conducting and overseeing scientific studies, partnering with independent researchers, managing networks, building projects, fostering partnerships, and developing educational programming. She is known by many for her iconic interpretive installations in parks and protected areas around Greater Yellowstone. She is a Wyss Conservation Scholar of the American West, three-time National Endowment for the Arts grant recipient, and Wyoming Arts Council Pattie Layser Memorial Greater Yellowstone Creative Writing & Journalism Fellow. Katie holds her Masters from Yale School of the Environment.

To learn more about Katie and her vision for NRCC’s future, visit our website and subscribe to our newsletter. We thank Ben Williamson for his five years of leadership, and wish him the best in his new role at Montana State University’s Mountains and Plains Thriving Communities Collaborative. We’re pleased that Ben will continue to be connected with NRCC as a Research Associate.