Department News Highlights

New Master Trail Steward Course

USU LAEP Extension developed this course in response to the growing need for skilled volunteers and trail organizations to assist in the stewardship and management of Utah’s trail resources. Extension Specialist Jake Powell has been working with federal and state land managers, the Utah office of Tourism, and Cache County trails planner and LAEP alumnus Dayton Crites to develop the course. The course is intended to provide volunteers, trail organizations, and land managers both a foundational understanding of the values inherent in trail stewardship as well as teach the skills required to plan, build, and maintain sustainable trail networks. The course is being developed as a five module core curriculum beginning with an online introduction course, and four subsequent in-person, field based workshops that cover trail planning and design, trail construction and maintenance, volunteer and project management, and advanced trail construction.

Instead Podcast: A new vision for downtown Pocatello

The Extension mission of the LAEP department leads us to communities that want help creating a plan for the future. This episode of the USU Office of Research’s “Instead” podcast is about Pocatello Idaho. You’ll hear where the city is at now and how Professor Todd Johnson and former grad student/ current Pocatello Assistant Planner Jim Anglesey are contributing to Pocatello’s vision. Listen to the podcast by visiting instead.buzzsprout.com and finding episode 15.

LAEP Studio Project Receives Second Statewide Award

During the Fall 2018 semester, students in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning’s (LAEP) Urban Theory and Design studio, led by Professor Caroline Lavoie, completed a project with the City of Ogden. Their work, which previously received a Utah ASLA Honor Award, recently won a 2019 Utah American Planning Association (APA) Outstanding Award.

Travel Course: Pacific West Coast

LAEP Students prepared during the Spring semester for a unique trip down the Pacific Coast Highway led by Assistant Professor Brent Chamberlain. The journey was set to start in Portland, Oregon and end in San Francisco, California, with opportunities to bicycle throughout. The trip has been tentatively rescheduled for Summer 2021.

Facility Updates

LAEP has made several facility updates in recent years, which have helped to create positive learning spaces. With the early departure from campus during Spring 2020 semester, we were able to get a head start on some of these projects.

Grad Studio Refresh

Funded by CREATE 2020, LAEP department funds, and an anonymous alumni gift, the Grad Studio is receiving a much well-deserved remodel. Major changes include removing the box and opening the wall into the Jury Room. New standing desks were purchased and used during Spring semester, with new flooring and pin-up space still in the works. This update will promote collaboration and studio culture, as well as create a similar style to the undergrad studios. A special thank you to the anonymous donor whose contribution helped make this significant remodel possible.

Office Changes

Modifications have also been made to the LAEP Front Office to create a more functional configuration and a faculty member office has been divided to create two separate office spaces. This will better accommodate faculty members in our ever-growing department.