Mijal Altmann will serve as the new statewide youth development specialist for the University of Wyoming Extension.Mijal Altmann. In this role, Altmann will mentor 4-H youth development educators, advise the state 4-H Youth Leadership Team, and lead the Extension Roots Internship Program. This new internship program provides career development opportunities for Wyoming youth by giving them firsthand experience working with Extension offices across the state. Altmann will also build community partnerships, support traditional 4-H educational programs and events, and research the latest findings in positive youth development. Altmann earned her master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 2024. Her graduate research focused on youth empowerment and civic engagement. Most recently, she served as a graduate assistant at Stanford University, focusing on educational trends, youth development, and social-emotional learning. Altmann also worked as the head instructor at an outdoor leadership camp for five years. Originally from Maryland, Altmann looks forward to expanding her horizons in Wyoming and working with youth across the state. “I believe in the power of planting seeds early in kids to help them become competent, independent, and confident members of their communities over time, and this is the perfect role to accomplish that,” says Altmann. Altmann started her new role with UW Extension on Monday, June 16. She can be reached at (307) 766-5125 or maltmann@uwyo.edu.
Housing development is expanding, pushing homes into wild landscapes at an unprecedented pace. Yet, as residential development moves into previously undeveloped areas, those same species face more than the direct loss of land under a building’s footprint—they also can lose access to the habitat surrounding those homes, multiplying the effective impact of each new structure. Without clear guidance on how much open space must be maintained between homes to conserve habitat for wildlife, new housing developments risk shrinking available habitat and fragmenting the movement pathways animals depend on to move between seasonal ranges.
When it comes to University of Wyoming faculty recognition, it’s hard to beat the past two years for Department of Ecosystem Science and Management Professor Scott Shaw. After receiving the 2025 John P. Ellbogen Lifetime Teaching Award that recognizes the long, distinguished, and exemplary career of one senior faculty member who has excelled as a teacher at UW, Shaw has been selected as the recipient of the 2026 George Duke Humphrey Distinguished Faculty Award, the university’s top faculty honor.
