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four people posing on top of a rocky mountain peak with another peak in the background

Rocky Mountains Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU)

Understanding, Documenting, and Interpreting Human History and Cultural Resources within our Western Landscapes

People have lived within the Rocky Mountains ecosystem for thousands of years, and their activities have had a profound impact on the region and its resources.  The RM-CESU, through university and agency collaboration on research, technical assistance, and education projects, facilitate a broader understanding of the integral role that humans have played within the ecosystem.  This history of human occupation is evident in a wealth of cultural resources, including the archeological record of the region’s earliest inhabitants, the cultural and land management traditions of the Native American populations that have a continuing presence and influence in the area, the built environment and cultural landscapes created by regional settlement patterns and industry and the extensive documentary and archival record of human activity in the West.

 Seminar Recordings:

February 9, 2023:  Montana Yellowstone Archaeological Project: 17 Years of Documenting Cultural Resources in the First National Park – Doug MacDonald, Professor of Archaeology, Ñý¼§Ö±²¥

Since 2007, the Ñý¼§Ö±²¥ Department of Anthropology has conducted archaeological research in Yellowstone National Park. Working with archaeologist from the park, Doug MacDonald leads the effort to understand the Native American history and prehistory of Yellowstone.

March 9, 2023: Atlas of Drowned Towns: Recovering the Histories of Inundated Communities – Bob Reinhardt, Associate Professor of History, Boise State University

The Atlas of Drowned Towns is a public history project that explores the histories of the dozens of communities in the the American West inundated by dam construction in the twentieth century.

April 5, 2023: Using Cultural Heritage Partnerships to Educate the Next Generation A Case Study Analysis - Kat Vlahos, Professor of Architecture and Historic Preservation, University of Colorado Denver

Kat Vlahos shares how the building long-term partnerships and building innovative methods together is key to documenting the many landscapes that define the American West.