Information:

Luther Propst founded and directs the Sonoran Institute, with offices in Tucson and Phoenix, Arizona; Bozeman, Montana; Glenwood Springs, Colorado; Cheyenne and Sheridan, Wyoming; Twentynine Palms, California; and Mexicali, Mexico. The Sonoran Institute’s mission is to inspire and enable community decisions and public policies that respect the land and people of the West. The Institute works to conserve our national parks, forests, wildlife refuges and other public lands, promote “smart growth;” better managing water, reforming local and state energy and climate change policies – the core issues that define how the West is growing and changing.

The Sonoran Institute works in a wide variety of settings from the Delta of the Colorado River and the Mojave Desert of southeast California to Montana’s Rocky Mountain Front. The Institute is now recognized as a leading practitioner in the North American West of community-based, collaborative, and innovative efforts to advance conservation and to ground conservation in an understanding of economic values and implications.

Previously, Propst practiced law, where he represented landowners, local governments, and organizations nationwide in land-use matters, and with World Wildlife Fund in Washington D.C. Propst received his law degree and master’s in regional planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Propst has co-authored three books, including Balancing Nature and Commerce in Gateway Communities, published by Island Press. He frequently speaks and writes on Western conservation, land use, economic development, and state trust lands. In addition, he serves on the boards of the George B. Storer Foundation, the Conservation Lands Foundation, Carpe Diem West, and the Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics at Arizona State University.

Propst splits his time between Tucson, Arizona and Jackson Hole, Wyoming. He enjoys exploring the mountains, deserts, canyons, and rivers of the West and beyond.