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We have developed an interdisciplinary, participatory research approach focused on developing, applying and evaluating the use of state-and-transition models for rangelands in Colorado and Wyoming. State-and-transition models (STMs) are tools that represent our best available knowledge of how different types of vegetation communities may change over time in response to management (e.g., grazing) and disturbances (e.g., fire). STMs have been adopted by the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and US Forest Service (FS) as the basis for rangeland monitoring and assessment throughout the US, however past research indicates that only 30% of ranchers in Colorado and Wyoming have heard of STMs, and only 3% use them in management. Our research builds on past work to bridge the gap between STM development and application, by working closely with producers and agency staff at each of the five project locations.  This poster details the participatory approach during our initial year of the project. We have hosted meetings with stakeholders including ranchers, representatives of the NRCS, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, BLM and others. Based on input from stakeholders on priority ecological sites and management concerns, we have conducted low-intensity and high-intensity data collection in three of the five project locations, and hosted meetings and participatory workshops to integrate local and expert knowledge into draft STMs. Over the next two years, we will continue to collect field data at a diversity of ecological sites, holding workshops and meetings, and developing several draft STMs which include the novel integration of wildlife responses (habitat, occurrence and abundance) into models, with the ultimate goal of producing a handbook on participatory STM development.