Community and Natural Resource Institute (CANRI)

We are lucky to live in an extraordinarily beautiful place here in Utah. Mountains, rivers and streams, city parks, trails, lakes, farmland, and red rock have all been shown to have a positive influence on Utahans’ wellbeing. However, the natural resources that we value so highly are threatened by a warming climate, demographic shifts, and changing human preferences, for example. To address these pressing interlinked human-environmental issues we need an understanding of what drives human behavior and what might influence societal transformations.

The Community and Natural Resources Institute (CANRI) at Utah State University is comprised of faculty and students committed to interdisciplinary research and engagement related to human and community dimensions of natural resource issues and environmental problems. Through our research and outreach, we seek to provide accessible information and give voice to those whose experiences better help us understand dynamic relationships between people and natural resources and the landscapes they call home.

We are seeking support for the work of affiliated faculty, staff, and students. Our funding priorities include small grants to support graduate student research and conference travel and support to continue creating gathering spaces and occasions for sharing ideas and insights on community and natural resource issues in the Intermountain West and beyond.