Get outdoors with a degree that takes you beyond the classroom and trains you to help conserve the world's wildlife. A Wildlife Conservation and Management emphasis in the Natural Resources Bachelor of Science program focuses on the ecology of wild animals, including the study of their biology, their relationships with each other and humans, and the physical and biological environment that are their habitat. Students are equipped for careers as wildlife and fishery biologists who develop strategies to maintain biodiversity and habitat, help rare and endangered species to recover, manage populations of harvested animals, monitor populations of plants and animals, manage refuges and hatcheries, design and implement research projects, eliminate invasive species, develop computer models and educate the public. Graduates are employed as wildlife biologists by federal and state resource-management agencies and by other conservation organizations.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Demonstrate basic knowledge ecological principles, Acquire basic knowledge of ecological principles (e.g., energy flow, material cycling, competition, predation, mutualism), identify current ecological challenges facing natural resource managers, and use ecological principles to develop potential integrated solutions to problems in natural resource management. (RNR 316/202)
Natural resource management, Describe how social, political, and economic forces affect management of natural resources, and explain why there generally are trade-offs between various objectives in natural resources management.
Land management agency roles, Identify the major land management agencies responsible for stewardship of natural resources, the key historical conditions that lead to the creation of these agencies, and the primary mandates of each of these agencies.