About Us

How we started

Congress established the U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution in 1998. The U.S. Institute's mission is to help resolve environmental disputes that involve the federal government, by providing mediation, training and related services.

Included within the term "environmental" disputes are conflicts related to the environment, public lands and natural resources. Congress also directed the U.S. Institute to work to further the implementation of our National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by providing negotiation, mediation, and other settlement efforts as alternatives to litigation.

Congress placed the U.S. Institute within the Udall Foundation. The Foundation is an independent federal agency based in Tucson, Arizona. As a result, the U.S. Institute is part of the federal government - but it is completely independent of all other federal agencies. Congressional sponsors of the legislation creating the Institute thought it was appropriate for it to be part of the Udall Foundation, as Sen. John McCain said, because Morris Udall's career "was distinguished by his integrity, service and commitment to consensus-building."

More information on the Udall Foundation is available at udall.gov.

Mission and Goals

The U.S. Institute has three primary goals:

  • Resolve environmental conflicts and improve environmental decision-making by the appropriate use of ECR through U.S. Institute case services.
  • Resolve environmental conflicts and improve environmental decision-making by increasing the capacity of agencies and other affected stakeholders and practitioners to manage and resolve conflicts through the appropriate use of ECR.
  • Resolve environmental conflicts and improve environmental decision-making by providing leadership to guide ECR practice and policy development within the federal government.

Agency Overview

Since 1998 the U.S. Institute has been an impartial entity inside the federal government, independent of other agencies, that provides conflict resolution services to help public and private interests manage and resolve environmental conflicts nationwide. The U.S. Institute carefully guards its independence and impartiality. The Board of Trustees for the Foundation has adopted a strong conflict of interest policy, which emphasizes that the U.S. Institute's dispute resolution work is entirely independent of and without influence from the Board.

The 2005 Federal Policy Memorandum on ECR recognizes the U.S. Institute's status as a key provider of ECR services, and encourages Federal agencies to draw on U.S. Institute services to increase the effective use of ECR.

Our Staff

The U.S. Institute has a staff of about 30, including Deputy Executive Director for Environmental Conflict Resolution program managers, project and administrative staff. The Institute provides services nationwide and frequently partners with private-sector mediators and facilitators who are located in the geographic area of a dispute. These outside mediators are among the more than 300 members of the Institute’s National Roster of Environmental Dispute Resolution and Consensus Building Professionals. This resource is also available to anyone searching for an ECR professional at Roster of ECR Practitioners.

In addition to their mediation and facilitation skills, the Institute's professional staff have backgrounds in many related fields, including law, public policy, natural resource and public lands management, urban planning, air quality, transportation, energy, and Native American issues. Meet our staff.

Our Funding

The U.S. Institute gets its funding from two sources: annual appropriations and fees paid for the services it provides.

  • Federal Appropriations
    The U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution is a program of the Udall Foundation, a federal agency. In fiscal 2010, Congress appropriated $3.8 million for the Institute, which pays a portion of our basic operating expenses.

  • Funding from Fees
    Each year, the Institute generates about $2.5 million to $3.5 million from other groups (primarily other federal agencies, but also state, county and tribal governments, non-governmental organizations and others) in fees for conflict resolution services. Most of this funding is paid to contracted mediators and facilitators who work with the Institute on conflict resolution projects. The balance supplements our basic operating expenses.


Did you know...?

building The Udall Foundation is one of the few federal agencies headquartered outside the DC area. The Foundation (as well as the U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution, which is operated by the foundation) is located in downtown Tucson, Arizona, in a newly renovated 1928-era historic building. A special ceremony was held on Friday, January 17, 2003, to mark the opening of the Udall Foundation's new building and its commitment to revitalizing downtown Tucson through the Rio Nuevo Project as well as to honor the Foundation's overall work.