ABOUT

The Wildlife & Wilderness Recreation Lab is located at the Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources at the University of Wyoming in Laramie, Wyoming and the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado. The Principal Scientist and Lab Director is Kelly Dunning. The best way to learn about our lab is on our research page which contains information on all former and current projects.

The Wildlife & Wilderness Recreation Lab studies public policy for sustainable management of coastal and terrestrial ecosystems to benefit human society and future generations. Our focus is on participatory research where people impacted by decision-making are invited to have a seat at the table to shape the direction of our research. Our lab is working to make nature, ecosystems, fish, and wildlife, particularly in settings that draw significant amounts of tourism, more sustainable.

We work with partners in governments and in NGOs. While the Intermountain West is our home, we have significant presence in coastal settings and our research has global implications and numerous partnerships all over the world.

The lab has the following priority research areas:

• Public policy that responds to global environmental change and enhances resilient outdoor recreation and conservation.

• Ensuring greater participation in marine and coastal conservation with 2 peer reviewed books on the subject of coral reef systems here and here and an ongoing project on marine sanctuaries.

• Sustainable fish & wildlife tourism and recreation on public lands and waterways such as national parks, marine sanctuaries, and national forests

• International biodiversity conservation including treaties such as the Convention on Biological Diversity.

• Public policy for improving hunter and angler access and diversifying the hunting and angling community

The Wildlife and Wilderness Recreation Lab was formerly known as the Conservation Governance Lab at Auburn University founded in 2019. Before that, our efforts were focused on the Coastal Training Program at the University of Texas Austin Marine Science Institute (UTMSI) beginning in 2017. The PI is Dr. Kelly Dunning, the Timberline Professor of Sustainable Outdoor Recreation. Dr. Dunning holds a PhD from MIT in Natural Resources Policy and Conservation Planning, an MS from Oxford University in Environmental Policy and Planning, and a BA from the University of Florida. Dunning was granted tenure at Wyoming in 2023 and at Auburn in 2022.