Lydia Lawhon

Lydia Lawhon received her PhD in the Department of Environmental Studiesat CU-Boulder in 2016. Her research considers the role of local knowledge in crafting environmental policy, as well as ways to reduce conflict and improve outcomes for controversial natural resources policy problems. Her dissertation focused on the transition to state management of wolves in Wyoming following federal delisting. In addition, she conducts research on wildfire issues in Colorado and is currently working with the Forests and Fire Program at The Nature Conservancy-Colorado to determine citizens’ perceptions of the use of prescribed fire as a tool for forest restoration. She has also worked as a research assistant on a National Science Foundation-funded project investigating community policy responses to the 2013 floods along the Front Range.

Prior to moving to Boulder, Lydia was the Associate Director for the Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative in Jackson, WY, and also consulted on projects related to environmental policy and management. While in Jackson, she spent several field seasons skiing in her spare time as a volunteer wolf technician with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on the Wyoming Wolf Recovery Project. Lydia currently is a research associate with the Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative (NRCC) in Jackson, WY. She received an A.B. from Dartmouth College and a professional Masters in Environmental Management (M.E.M.) from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.