Building and Sustaining Quality in Natural Resource Academic Departments

In his recently published book, Departments that Work: Building and Sustaining Cultures of Excellence in Academic Programs (2003. Anchor Publishing Co., Bolton, MA), Jon F. Wergin outlines characteristics of a quality academic department

New master of natural resources professional degree program at Utah State University

The Utah State University College of Natural Resources has recently instituted an inter-departmental, non-thesis Master of Natural Resources degree to meet the needs of students and practicing professionals with a career orientation in natural resource management as opposed to research

Undergraduate Enrollment Trends in Natural Resources at NAUFRP Institutions: An Update

Undergraduate enrollments in natural resources were analyzed for 30 NAUFRP institutions from around the country, covering the period 1980-2009. Results indicate that the steady downturn in enrollments beginning in the mid 1990s reversed itself in 2003 and continued to increase steadily through the present. Enrollments in the general category of Natural Resources and Environment recently eclipsed those in other more traditional fields of study such as forestry and wildlife and fisheries. Forestry enrollments, which in 1980 constituted nearly half of the total enrollments in all natural resource fields, currently make up less than only about one-fifth of these enrollments. These results have important implications for the academic institutions offering programs in natural resources and for the various employers of the graduates of these programs

Enrollment decision-making in U.S. forestry and related natural resource degree programs

This article investigates enrollment decision-making trends among students currently enrolled in forestry and related natural resource (FRNR) degree programs in the United States. We conducted an online survey administered to all student participants attending the Society of American Foresters (SAF) National Convention in Salt Lake City, UT, in 2014 to obtain our enrollment decision-making data. Students were asked to rank the enrollment factors they considered most important to their decision to enroll, and factors that caused them to hesitate when enrolling in their degree program. We found that the “typical” FRNR enrollee was a person who enjoyed being outdoors and had an affinity toward nature, while being attracted to the idea of working outdoors on subject material that pertained to nature in general. We also found that there were many important differences between the “typical” FRNR enrollee and their minority counterparts. For example, women were found to be significantly more hesitant about enrolling in a FRNR program than males (the dominant demographic of FRNR students). In addition to these differences, we found critical differences between degree program and specialty that also crossed gender lines. We report the results of these findings and discuss the implications for future recruitment efforts geared toward both boosting FRNR enrollment overall as well as increasing FRNR student diversity

Trends in undergraduate enrollment in natural resources at NAPFSC Institutions, 1980-2003

Undergraduate enrollments were obtained by degree programs in natural resources for a representative sample (n=30) of universities having membership in the National Association of Professional Forestry Schools and Colleges (NAPFSC). Nationally, enrollments dropped to a low point in 1987, increased sharply to a maximum in 1995, and then decreased steadily through the present (2003). This trend differed little among geographic regions

Recent Reorganization of the College of Natural Resources at Utah State University: Implications for Teaching and Research

On July 1, 2002, the College of Natural Resources at Utah State University reorganized into three new departments, i.e., Aquatic, Watershed, and Earth Resources; Environment and Society; and Forest, Range, and Wildlife Sciences. The first two departments focus on the bio-physical sciences, while the third emphasizes the social sciences in an interdisciplinary setting

Preliminary analysis of ERS-1 SAR for forest ecosystem studies

The authors examine an image obtained by the C-band VV-polarized ERS-1 SAR with respect to potential land applications. A scene obtained near noon on Aug. 15, 1991, along the US-Canadian border near Sault Ste. Marie is calibrated relative to an array of trihedral corner reflectors and active radar calibrators distributed across the swath. Extensive contemporaneous ground observations of forest stands are used to predict σ° at the time of the SAR overpass using a first-order vector radiative transfer model (MIMICS). These predictions generally agree with the calibrated ERS-1 data to within 1 dB. It is demonstrated that the dynamic range of σ° is sufficient to perform limited discrimination of various forest and grassland communities even for a single-date observation. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that retrieval of near-surface soil moisture is feasible for grass-covered soils when plant biomass is less than 1 tonne/h

Developing the self-guiding trail as an interpretive media in urban "natural" areas--a case history

Master of ScienceForestryUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/115036/1/39015003271643.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/115036/2/39015003271643.pd