Range Resource Management

Our Program

The Rangeland Resource Management program offers students the opportunity to develop skills in applying science to the assessment, planning, and management of lands used for pasture, recreation, wildlife habitat, and maintenance of “environmental services” (i.e. providing clean water, air, healthy vegetation and productive soil).

The program draws students from a range of different disciplines, including animal science, natural resource management, earth and soil science, and wildlife biology, and weaves skills and knowledge from those different disciplines into methods for land management. Students will learn procedures for assessing the health and function of ecosystems, learn methods for establishing realistic goals and objectives, and gain practice in applying monitoring methods used by professionals.

Rangeland resource professionals are people who have strong multi-disciplinary backgrounds, even if they have specialized in one or more areas, like livestock production, soil science or wildlife biology. What is important is that they understand the related disciplines well enough to make effective use of their methods and knowledge to achieve the kinds of landscapes and ecological processes that managers and users of grazing lands, wildlands, and open spaces desire.

Rangeland resource students will have opportunities to take internships with numerous federal agencies, private ranches, conservation organizations, and private consultants. They will have the chance to develop grazing plans for domestic livestock or, if they wish, for wild ungulates. There will also be opportunities to participate in professional meetings, and undertake research and management planning projects of many kinds. If you enjoy being outdoors in a variety of wide open environments, then come discover the fresh air and big skies of the world’s rangelands.

The Rangeland Resource Management program allowed me to develop my interest in multiple land use and conservation strategies. The coursework and extracurricular activities have helped me make connections with professionals and gain the knowledge needed to pursue exciting career opportunities.

Collin McKim, undergraduate student