RNR 322 Field Methods in Natural Resources and the Environment

This course provides experience with a wide array of field sampling and study design methods for natural resource management and policy-making. Over two days in the classroom and eight days in the field, students will gain experience with field and lab techniques in wildlife and fisheries, vegetation sampling, soil and carbon dynamics, range management, hydrology, and GIS. These topics will allow students within a given sub-discipline to gain practical field experience with other sub-disciplines. Recent wildfires will serve as an example of a landscape-scale process that has indirect and direct effects on almost all natural resources. The course will highlight how natural systems are interrelated, demonstrating that natural resource decisions cannot be made in isolation. How do managers and researchers collect, synthesize, and present data? How do data shape decision-making processes? How do natural resource managers balance multiple natural resource concerns and administrative complexity in dynamic ecosystems? This course will address all of these issues though classroom learning, field experiences, and in-person meetings with researchers, conservation practitioners, and natural resource managers.