ABOUT

The Wildlife & Wilderness Recreation Lab is located at the Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources at the University of Wyoming in Laramie (formerly the Conservation Governance Lab at Auburn University). The PI is Dr. Kelly Dunning, the Timberline Professor of Sustainable Outdoor Recreation and Tourism. Dr. Dunning holds a PhD from MIT in Natural Resources Policy, an MS from Oxford University in Environmental Policy, and a BA from the University of Florida. Dunning was granted tenure at Wyoming in 2023. Our lab is working to make nature-based tourism more sustainable, and we do so by working with partners in governments and NGOs.

The lab has the following priority research areas:

• Public policy that enhances outdoor recreation and conservation, focusing on wildlife tourism

• Sustainable tourism and recreation on public lands and waterways such as national parks and national forests

• Wildlife tourism including hunter and angler experiences, R3, and the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation

• Human dimensions of wildlife (CWD, human wildlife conflict)

• Tourism focused on wildlife viewing and how it dovetails with biodiversity conservation  

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

The Wildlife & Wilderness Recreation Lab is equally committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Innovation and creative problem solving comes from individuals of different races, ethnicities, genders, disability, statuses, nationalities, religious affiliations, sexual orientations and socioeconomic backgrounds working together. It is only by stepping out of our comfort zone that we are able to better understand the skills we each embody and utilize our shared experiences to voice unique perspectives.  We are committed to inclusiveness and providing opportunities that will assist students in having a global impact. We aim to fulfill our mission of cultivating culturally competent policy experts by attracting, developing, and retaining the best and brightest individuals from a diversity of backgrounds.