Ecology & Conservation Biology

A Bachelor of Science in Ecology and Conservation Biology from the University of Idaho positions you as a leader in the conservation and sustainable management of our planet’s ecosystems. With this degree, you will be prepared to help manage natural resources, protect endangered species and lead other conservation programs. You may specialize in one of the following areas of concentration:

• Natural Resource Ecology: Provides the knowledge and tools to manage ecosystems. You may work as an ecologist, researcher or manager addressing issues of sustainable development, ecological integrity, the impacts and management of introduced species, and ecological restoration or reintroduction.
• Conservation Biology: Prepares you to conserve biological diversity and protect rare, threatened or endangered animals and plants. Graduates often work as conservation biologists, conservation planners, ecologists or researchers.

As a student in the rigorous program, you’ll learn to solve the ecological, social and political problems related to biological diversity. Long-term conservation and sustainable management of wildland ecosystems are the primary objectives of this degree.

The program draws on many disciplines in the College of Natural Resources, giving you ready access to all of the college’s excellent faculty and resources. You will receive personal guidance on course work, employment and careers from an adviser in, or associated with, the following departments Fish and Wildlife Resources, and Conservation Social Sciences.

Prepare for Success

To be successful as a student and professional in ecology and conservation biology, you should have strong writing and speaking skills and also be proficient in math and science. You will do well in the program if you enjoy hiking in the mountains, exploring marshes and streams and observing wildlife.

Your First Year

Students in each area of concentration – Conservation Biology or Natural Resources Ecology –  complete the following courses during their first year:

• Natural Resources 101 – Exploring Natural Resources
• Biology 115 – Cells and Evolution of Life                                                                     
• Communication 101 – Fundamentals of Public Speaking
• Chemistry 101 – Introduction
• Chemistry 111 – Principles of Chemistry
• English 102 – College Writing and Rhetoric
• Math 160 – Survey of Calculus
• Math 170 – Analytic Geometry and Calculus

What You Can Do

A degree in ecology and conservation biology prepares you for a variety of professional career tracks. Depending on your interests and degree option, you may become a:  

• Environmental/ecological consultant
• Field botanist
• Invasive species management specialist
• Landscape ecologist
• Riparian/aquatic ecologist

You can also continue your education beyond the bachelor’s degree right here at the University of Idaho. We offer the following graduate degrees:

• Master of Science in Natural Resources
• Professional Science Master's Program
• Master of Natural Resources (MNR)
• Doctorate of Natural Resources

Opportunities

A degree in ecology and conservation biology from the University of Idaho leads to professional positions in federal and state agencies, private companies and environmental organizations. It also serves as preprofessional training for law or graduate school. Over the last three years, graduates with a bachelor of science in this field have had a job placement rate of 80 percent. You will be prepared for a wide range of careers in federal, state and conservation agencies, nonprofit groups and nongovernmental agencies, including:

• U.S.D.A. Forest Service
• U.S. Department of Agriculture
• The Nature Conservancy                                           
• Society for Range Management
• Idaho Department of Lands                                     
• Bureau of Indian Affairs
• United Nations                                                          
• Bureau of Reclamation

During your professional career in this field, you may:

• Solve ecological, social and political problems related to biological diversity
• Predict the consequences of alternative natural resource management decisions
• Develop conservation plans for threatened and endangered species
• Manage wildlands for ecological sustainability
• Restore degraded ecosystems
• Respond to the public on environmental policies and management practices
• Conduct basic research on core ecological patterns and processes

Current Research

There are currently 20 faculty members in the ecology and conservation biology program conducting leading research.

Activities

Ecology and Conservation Biology Club
Range Club/ Society for Range Management Student Conclave
Student Organization for the People and the Environment (SOPE)

Hands-On Experience

The senior thesis or project is the hallmark of the ecology and conservation biology program and a requirement for graduation. Carefully designed as a learning experience, this program allows students to work closely with a faculty supervisor as well as with mentors both within the university and outside the university in private industry, federal and state agencies, or nonprofit organizations. Students must write a proposal, prepare a final report and make a professional presentation.

In addition to being an excellent intellectual experience, your senior thesis or project gives you a better grasp of scientific principles and methods, makes your degree more appealing to potential employers and prepares you for graduate school (if you choose that route). Past senior thesis topics have led to multiple publications of student research in peer-reviewed journals. Examples include:

• Developing a grant proposal for a university-wide sustainability initiative.
• Assessing the potential for bio-control of invasive plants using parasitic wasps.
• Testing restoration approaches for riverbed ecosystems that have been contaminated by mining.
• Using genetic analysis to assess gene flow and population structure in long-toed salamanders.

Below are examples of past thesis Power Point presentations:

• Riparian Revegetation of Mined Drainages
• An Examination of Exotic Rose Encroachment
• Making Sustainability Work at the University of Idaho
• Leaf Area Index of Mica Creek Experimental Watershed In North Idaho
• Relationships Between Amphibian Occurrence and Fisheries Management
• Behavioral Differences in Geographically Distinct Populations of Redband Trout

Breakthroughs & Discoveries

Nation's first candidate conservation agreement covering both public and private lands: Over a period of two years, students of Lisette Waits (wildlife), Karen Launchbaugh (rangeland ecology and management) and David Roon (ecology and conservation biology) worked with Joe Hinson and Margaret Soulen Hinson to research the history, habitat needs and threats to several species of plants and animals. They also wrote research papers used to develop geographic information system (GIS)-based habitat models. The project resulted in a single management plan to protect an area covering about 100,000 acres in the Crane Creek lands in central Idaho.

Facilities

The university hosts world-class research centers for remote sensing and ecological genetics. Idaho and the surrounding states also offer an outstanding outdoor classroom for natural resources issues. College of Natural Resources facilities also include:

• University of Idaho Experimental Forest 
• University of Idaho Center for Forest Nursery and Seedling Research 
• Remote Sensing and GIS Research Laboratory 
• Forest and Range Measurements Laboratory
• Guernsey Outdoor Classroom
• Taylor Wilderness Research Station 
• Idaho Stable Isotopes Laboratory 
• Inland Empire Tree Improvement Cooperative
• Intermountain Forest Tree Nutrition Cooperative
• University of Idaho Laboratory for Conservation and Ecological Genetics 
• Landscape Dynamics Laboratory
• Lee Sharp Experimental Area
• McCall Field Campus 
• Policy Analysis Group 

Faculty Involvement

An extremely diverse group of faculty offer students a comprehensive education, both in and outside the classroom. Lab and field facilities are used both on and off campus.

Stephen Bunting
Professor
Specialty Areas of Interest: Community and landscape ecology; Fire ecology and behavior
» View Steve Bunting's faculty profile

Jo Ellen Force
Professor; Department Head
Specialty Areas of Interest: Forest policy and the relationships between people and natural resources; Human Ecosystem Model and related studies
» View Jo Ellen Force's faculty profile

Alex Fremier
Assistant Professor
Fremier received his doctorate from U.C. Davis in 2007 for his research on restoration of floodplain landscapes. His interests center on weaving fluvial geomorphology into restoration and landscape ecology to improve management of riparian ecosystems and flood-prone areas. His research focuses on issues involving riparian habitats, floodplain and riverine systems, and hydrological processes.
» View Alex Fremier's profile

Paul Gessler
Professor; Co-Director, Geospatial Laboratory for Environmental Dynamics
Specialty Areas of Interest: Remote sensing & GIS for forest ecosystem analysis & monitoring; Wildland fire fuels and fire hazard mapping; Airborne sensor development; Environmental, Ecosystem and Soil-Landscape Modeling; Terrain and Watershed Analysis; Forest Soils; Spatial Statistics
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Troy Hall
Professor
Areas of interest: Recreation planning and management: Developing creative ways to bring stakeholders together to solve challenges created by increasing demand and sociocultural changes. In particular: (1) understanding the nature of wilderness experiences and helping managers devise acceptable management alternatives for high-use destinations; and (2) working with multiple stakeholders and land managers to understand trends and management alternatives for dispersed and developed recreation sites.
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Katy Kavanagh
Professor
Specialty Areas of Interest: Silviculture; Forest ecosystem processes; Tree hydraulic architecture
» katyk@uidaho.edu

Brian Kennedy
Associate Professor
Fish Ecology, Bioenergetics and Community Ecology of Streams, Ecosystem Controls on Aquatic Processes, Biogeochemical Tracers in Aquatic Systems
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Edwin E. Krumpe
Professor; Department Head
Dr. Krumpe is a professor of resource recreation and tourism in the University of Idaho College of Conservation Social Sciences. In addition to his academic responsibilities, Professor Krumpe is the Principle Scientist of Wilderness Management of the University of Idaho Wilderness Research Center, for which he served as director for six years. He has over thirty one years experience in conducting research and teaching about recreation and tourism management, wilderness and wild and scenic river planning, natural resource communication, and public involvement and conflict resolution.
» View Ed Krumpe's faculty profile

Penelope Morgan
Professor
Specialty Areas of Interest: Fire ecology and management; Landscape ecology; Natural resources ecology and conservation
» View Penny Morgan's faculty profile

George Newcombe
Professor
Research Interests: Genetics of resistance of woody plants to disease; Fungal pathogens of Populus and Salix: their taxonomy, ecology, and distributions; Endophyte mutualists of forest tree; Hyperparasitism; Plant-soil feedback in plant invasions
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Janet Rachlow
Associate Professor
Research Areas: Wildlife Ecology and Management, Conservation of Fragmented Populations, Behavioral Ecology of Mammals, Ungulate Biology, Conservation Biology.
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Kerry Paul Reese
Professor; Department Head
Research Interests: Upland Game Bird Ecology & Management; Non-game Wildlife; Avian Habitat Relationships
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Alistair Smith
Assistant Professor
Research Specialty: Fire Science Ecohydrology Remote Sensing Smoke Management and Air Quality
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Kerri Vierling
University of Idaho, College of Natural Resources, Associate Professor
Research Focus: Avian Ecology, Fire Effects on Wildlife, Novel Applications of Remote Sensing Approaches in Wildlife Conservation, Cavity Nester Dynamics, K-12 Outreach Animal Ecology, Animal-Habitat Relationships.
» View Kerri's Vierling's faculty profile

Lee Vierling
Executive Director, UI McCall Field Campus and McCall Outdoor Science School (MOSS)
Associate Professor, Department of Forest, Rangeland and Fire Sciences
Specialty area of Interest: Remote Sensing; Spatial Ecology; Biogeochemistry; Global Change; Interdisciplinary Science Education
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Lisette Waits
Professor; Affiliate faculty member CATIE Costa Rica
Research interests: Conservation Genetics, Landscape Genetics, Molecular Ecology, Molecular Systematics
» View Lisette Waits' profile

Frank Wilhelm
Associate Professor
Limnology, Lake restoration and management, Ecology of aquatic macroinvertebrates, Influence of temperature on life history and reproductive strategies, Predator-prey relationships (invert.-invert., fish-invert.), Nutrient cycling through benthic-pelagic coupling
» View Frank Wilhelm's faculty profile