Building the Wyoming We Want

Wyoming Geographic Information Science Center (WyGISC) – A Wyoming GIS mapping system hosted by the University of Wyoming with information about the state’s infrastructure.

Wyoming Rural Development Council (WRDC) – “A collaborative partnership that serves as a forum to address a full range of issues, opportunities and potential solutions in the rural communities of Wyoming.” This council has completed a number of assessments for Wyoming towns to aid them in developing growth strategies and has developed a Rural Resource Guide.

Plan-IT Wyoming – This organization “provides assistance to help Wyoming communities build capacity to benefit from geographic information systems and planning support tools.” There are a variety of resources available that focus on using technology to aid in community planning.

Open Spaces Initiative – A product of the University of Wyoming’s Ruckelshaus Institute, which has produced a wealth of information on Wyoming’s lands. Publications on specific challenges are listed below:

• Wyoming’s State of the Space
• Wyoming Public Opinion on Natural Resource Conservation & Development
• Conservation Easements
• Public Opinion in Wyoming on Conserving Agricultural Lands & Open Space
• Second Home Growth in Wyoming, 1990-2000
• “Perpetuities” – What Does it Mean for Conservation Easements & the Wyoming Constitution
• Big Game Migration Corridors in Wyoming
• The Role & Economic Importance of Private Lands in Providing Habitat for Wyoming’s Big Game
• Supplement – Recent Questions on Conservation Easements
• The Role of Agriculture in Maintaining Open Spaces in Wyoming
• The Cost of Community Services for Rural Residential Development in Wyoming
• Population Change in Wyoming, 1990-2000
• Public Funding Mechanisms for Open Space Protection – An Introduction for Wyoming

Ways to Conserve Wyoming’s Wonderful Open Lands – A guidebook developed by the governor’s office in 1997, which provides information and tools for citizens to utilize in order to conserve open spaces.

Greater Yellowstone Coordinating Committee – This group’s major contribution is “A Toolkit to Protect the Integrity of Greater Yellowstone Area Landscapes.”

Place Matters – “This dynamic database website is a resource for communities (their professional planners, public agencies, and concerned citizens) to identify tools and processes for better community design and decision making.” This resource provides an in depth, logical step by step process planning guide.

Urban Land Institute (ULI) – This organization “documents best practice and publishes books to impart cumulative knowledge to help the development community continuously improve its performance.”

USDA Rural Development – A wealth of resources and Community Development Programs are available to promote “long-term economic and community development in rural areas.”

USDA Open Space Conservation – This group offers several resources which address the rapid loss of open spaces and presents strategies to help reduce this trend.