Natural Resources Management Courses

Students will explore the climates, plants, animals, and human communities of rangeland throughout North America and the globe. The grasslands, shrublands, woodlands, and deserts that are collectively called rangelands include extensive challenges and opportunities for management and conservation. Students will individually explore these ecosystems through photos, ecosystem descriptions, videos, and internet-based tools. In discussions and presentations, students will collectively share their findings about these incredible rangeland ecosystems.

History and overview of the ecological, social, and economic aspects of wildland restoration using case studies. Students will explore approaches and philosophies towards restoring and rehabilitating wildlands that have been damaged through natural forces and human activities such as wildfire, overgrazing, cultivation, and weed invasion.

This course introduces theory and application of quantitative and qualitative methods for measuring and monitoring vegetation in grasslands, shrublands, woodlands, and forests. Students will gain a solid understanding of how to measure and evaluate vegetation attributes and design and implement monitoring programs relative to wildlife habitat, livestock forage, fire fuel characteristics, watershed function, and many other wildland values.

Management strategies for integrating grazing with other natural resource values such as wildlife, water, timber, recreation, and aesthetics; emphasis on herbivore ecology including ecological impacts of grazing, ways to manage grazing, and nutritional relationships between plants and free-ranging ungulates on rangeland, pastureland, and forest ecosystems. One 4 to 5 day field trip.

A 504 is a temporary course designation. Once a formal number is assigned, catalog text will become available.