Learning from the past to preserve the future of public lands
Welcome to the Public Lands History Center!
Established in 2007, the award-winning Public Lands History Center (PLHC) integrates research, education, and outreach in the best tradition of a land-grant university. Projects with National Parks and other public land management agencies enlist faculty, graduate students, and other researchers to conduct historical research that directly informs current resource management challenges. Our American West Program seeks to expose audiences to significant research, dynamic speakers, narratives of change and contestation, and the excitement of interdisciplinary dialogue on human-environment issues in the West. The PLHC gets students out of the classroom and into the field to get the experience and connections they need for fulfilling careers after graduation.
Recent News
PLHC Intern Hailey Doucette on Her Day Shadowing an NPS Cultural Resource Program Manager
The following is written by Hailey Doucette, an intern at the PLHC during the fall ’19 semester: On October 2, 2019 I had the opportunity to shadow Rocky Mountain National Park’s Cultural Resource Program Manager, Kelly Dick, and a seasonal employee in cultural resources, Emilio Santiago. The day was spent in the field at Lake […]
Luce Foundation Awards PLHC $225,000 Grant for “Telling Untold Stories” Project
We are very excited to share that the Henry Luce Foundation has awarded the PLHC a $225,000 grant for our “Telling Untold Stories” project. Through this project, the PLHC plans to identify two under-served communities that have a story to tell, conduct research to help these communities claim a voice, and incorporate them into our […]
Apollo Mission Control Restoration
Former program manager for the PLHC Maren Bzdek recently discussed the Apollo Mission Control Restoration with Colorado State’s SOURCE (link) Maren Bzdek also discussed the project with the Colorado Springs Gazette back in July (link). She is currently the senior historic preservation planner for the city of Fort Collins. Below is a time-lapse of the restoration.