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 Alumni: Where Are They Now?
The American Society for Environmental History awarded the Rachel Carson Prize for Best Dissertation to Dr. Will Wright. Dr. Wright was the graduate fellow on PLHC’s Global Challenges Research Team, which brought scholars in ecology and history together to discuss common and divergent threads in their approach to conservation. After he graduated, Dr. Wright also […]
Telling Untold Stories: A profile of Kristy Ornelas, First-year Student in the History Graduate Program
CSU Source featured our very own PRSE fellow Kristy Ornelas. Learn how she got excited about public lands and decided to attend CSU for her master’s degree in history! Follow this link to read her story: https://libarts.source.colostate.edu/telling-untold-stories-kristy-ornelas/
Congratulations Shaun Rose!
Shaun Rose presented his work at the Graduate Student Showcase, which earned him the College of Liberal Arts Highest Achievement in Scholarship Award. Shaun’s presentation is an extension of work he has done on a project for the PLHC! You can see a recorded version of Shaun’s presentation on Cultural Resource Management at Fisher’s Peak here. Congratulations […]
Blog
Streetcars to Scooters: Public Transportation in Denver, 1880s to Present
A City Without Cars In the late 1800s, Denver’s transportation infrastructure was built for the convenience of pedestrians, rather than drivers. Denver’s historic streetcar system was an efficient way for people to move throughout the city and helped develop community ties among riders. A little under a century later, Denver’s Regional Transportation District (RTD), was […]
Dearfield: Colorado’s (Almost) Forgotten Black Ghost Town
Along Highway 34, twenty-five miles southeast of Greely, sits a ghost town from the 1910s. It is easy to miss – just a few worn-down buildings and a small commemorative stone with a plaque – but the little town was once home to a flourishing Black agricultural community. Now bare and desolate, Dearfield sits unprotected […]
Into the Wild: A Modern Wilderness Narrative
Into the Wild: A Modern Wilderness Narrative In 1992, Chris McCandless walked into the Alaskan wilderness seeking the sublime power of nature, and ultimately became immortalized for his tragic devotion. Jon Krakauer’s bestselling novel, Into the Wild, recounted McCandless’ nomadic journey until it untimely ended with his death [1]. Since publication, readers have been fascinated […]