UW receives gift from Joe and Arlene Watt Foundation to research and combat invasive plant species

The University of Wyoming recently appeared on Sheridan Media’s Public Pulse program to give listeners an update on the recent studies and research being conducted at the Cowboy State’s only 4-year institution of higher learning. 

UW Director of Institutional Communications Chad Baldwin told listeners about a $500,000 gift from the Joe and Arlene Watt Foundation that will support a UW program that provides collaborative applied and fundamental research, along with hands-on educational opportunities, to combat invasive grass species and restore healthy Wyoming landscapes.

The gift, which totals $1 million with state match funding, creates an excellence fund that supports the Institute for Managing Annual Grasses Invading Natural Ecosystems (IMAGINE). It is an initiative of the UW College of Agriculture and Natural Resources’ Sheridan Research and Extension Center, as well as other partners that may not normally sit at the table.

This support is timely. In October 2020, Gov. Mark Gordon’s Invasive Species Initiative delivered its recommendations in its final report — recommendations that IMAGINE will address.