Program Requirements
The Public Lands Management emphasis focuses on the content and skills necessary for understanding and facilitating the integration of land, water, energy, wildlife, and human societies; the integration of public and private land decisions; and the integration of the wildland-urban interface to manage diverse stakeholder values and interests toward sustainable and resilient environmental relationships. This emphasis takes advantage of Gunnison County's public lands; tremendous natural resource wealth and thus, tensions among diverse stakeholders concerning the best use of those resources; and numerous government agencies, environmental nonprofits, extractive industries, recreationists, and ranchers all actively negotiating the values of these lands.
Upon completion of the Environment and Sustainability Comprehensive Major: Public Land Management Emphasis students will have the skills and capability to:
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Apply an extensive knowledge of natural sciences and the scientific method to understand and analyze environmental problems and solutions.
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Utilize environmental policies and frameworks to develop local, national, and global sustainable solutions.
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Use the insights of environmental history, literature, and ethics to inform current environmental decision making.
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Develop interdisciplinary critical thinking, communication, and problem-solving skills to foster community and ecological resilience.
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Serve as leaders in sustainability, guiding colleagues in any industry and field towards enhanced practices in sustainability.
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Engage in experiential learning through field visits to public lands, meetings with agency personnel, and participation in service-learning projects in the Gunnison area.
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Describe key historical events, figures, and issues that have shaped the modern system of public land management.
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Explain the mandates of major public land agencies and identify career pathways within the public land management field.
A minimum of 62 credits is required for the Environment & Sustainability Comprehensive Major: Public Land Management Emphasis.
Public Land Management Emphasis students must take BIOL 151 in place of BIOL 130 and BIOL 135. Public Land Management Students must select MATH 213 in their menu of math courses.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ENVS 100 | Introduction to Environment and Sustainability (GT-HI1) | 3 |
| ENVS 200 | Writing the Environment | 3 |
| ENVS 250 | Environmental Justice (GT-SS3) | 3 |
| ENVS 260 | Introduction to Public Lands Management | 4 |
| ENVS 301 | Science of Sustainability and Resilience | 3 |
| ENVS 350 | U.S. and Western Environmental Politics | 3 |
| ENVS 390 | Environmental Monitoring | 4 |
| ENVS 400 | Applied Sustainability | 3 |
| ENVS 410 | Environmental Ethics | 3 |
| ENVS 435 | Environmental Grant Writing | 1 |
| ENVS 499 | Internship in Environmental Studies | 3 |
| Select two of the following: | 6 | |
| Cultural Resource Management | ||
| Botany (with laboratory) | ||
| Wildlife Ecology and Management (with laboratory) | ||
| Conservation Biology | ||
| Biology of Fishes | ||
| Fisheries Management (with laboratory) | ||
| Aquatic Ecology (with laboratory) | ||
| Forest Ecology (with laboratory) | ||
| Introduction to Soil Science | ||
| History of the National Park Service | ||
| Interpretation of Natural and Cultural History | ||
| Introduction to Criminal Justice | ||
| Required Supporting Courses | ||
| BIOL 151 | Diversity and Patterns of Life (with laboratory) | 4 |
| BIOL 301 | General Ecology | 3 |
| ECON 215 | Environmental Economics | 3 |
| GEOG 340 | Intro Geographic Info Systems | 3 |
| MATH 213 | Probability and Statistics (GT-MA1) | 3 |
| Select one of the following: | 3-4 | |
| Energy and the Environment (GT-SC2) | ||
| Physical Geology (GT-SC2) and Physical Geology Laboratory (GT-SC1) | ||
| Select one of the following: | 1 | |
| This Is The Headwaters | ||
| Headwaters Conference | ||
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
| Cultural Anthropology (with laboratory) | ||
| Cultural Ecology | ||
| Borderlands: Representing Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality | ||
| Politics of the Environment | ||
| Politics of Social Movements | ||
| Human Rights | ||
| The Global South | ||
| Political Economy | ||
| Environmental Psychology | ||
| Multicultural Psychology | ||
| Social Psychology | ||
| Communities & Social Change | ||
| Environmental Sociology | ||
| Social Movements | ||
| Social Class, Status, and Power | ||
| Total Credits | 62-63 | |
Capstone Course Requirement
The following course in the Environment and Sustainability Major fulfills the capstone course requirement: ENVS 400 Applied Sustainability.
Western Watershed General Education Requirements
Students must complete all Western Watershed General Education requirements to graduate.
Graduation Requirements
Undergraduate programs require a minimum of 120 semester credits for graduation. Of those 120 credits, 40 credits must be in upper-division courses (those marked 300 and above). Fifteen of these 40 upper-division credits must be earned in courses that are part of the standard or comprehensive major program being pursued.
Students are expected to review all graduation requirements, which can be found in the Western Undergraduate Catalog: Graduation Requirements.
Degree Plans are for planning purposes. They reflect a suggested plan to complete the degree in a projected timeframe per program of study.
"Western Watershed Course(s)” refers to a course from the Tributaries area of the Western Watershed program. These courses should be chosen in consultation with the student’s advisor.
Sample Plan
| Year One | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Credits | |
| WWGE 101/102/103/104 | Headwaters: First Year Seminar (WWGE) | 2 |
| ENVS 100 | Introduction to Environment and Sustainability (GT-HI1) | 3 |
| Western Watershed Course | 3 | |
| Western Watershed Course | 3 | |
| ENG 102 | Writing and Rhetoric I (GT-CO1) | 3 |
| Credits | 14 | |
| Spring | ||
| MATH 213 | Probability and Statistics (GT-MA1) | 3 |
| Elective | Elective | 3 |
| PHYS 125 | Energy and the Environment (GT-SC2) | 3 |
| ENG 103 | Writing and Rhetoric II (GT-CO2) | 3 |
| BIOL 151 | Diversity and Patterns of Life (with laboratory) | 4 |
| Credits | 16 | |
| Year Two | ||
| Fall | ||
| ENVS 200 | Writing the Environment | 3 |
| ENVS 250 | Environmental Justice (GT-SS3) | 3 |
| ENVS 260 | Introduction to Public Lands Management | 4 |
| Western Watershed Course | (WWGE) | 3 |
| Elective or Minor Course | 3 | |
| Credits | 16 | |
| Spring | ||
| ECON 215 | Environmental Economics | 3 |
| BIOL 301 | General Ecology | 3 |
| Elective | Elective | 3 |
| Western Watershed Course | (WWGE) | 3 |
| Western Watershed Course | (WWGE) | 3 |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Year Three | ||
| Fall | ||
| ENVS 325 | Introduction to Soil Science | 4 |
| ENVS 350 | U.S. and Western Environmental Politics | 3 |
| ENVS 370 | Water Policy and Politics | 3 |
| HWTR 398 | Headwaters Conference | 1 |
| Elective | chosen from selection of classes on cultural, racial, ethnic, gender, sex, sexuality, and/or class contexts | 3 |
| Credits | 14 | |
| Spring | ||
| ENVS 301 | Science of Sustainability and Resilience | 3 |
| ENVS 390 | Environmental Monitoring | 4 |
| GEOG 340 | Intro Geographic Info Systems | 3 |
| WWGE 301/302/303/304 | Delta: Western Watershed Integration Seminar (WWGE) | 1 |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Credits | 14 | |
| Summer | ||
| ENVS 499 | Internship in Environmental Studies (Recommended but optional) | 3 |
| **Summer courses count towards a student’s GPA, Academic Standing, and follow summer tuition fee structure. | ||
| Credits | 3 | |
| Year Four | ||
| Fall | ||
| Elective or Minor | Elective or Minor | 12 |
| Western Watershed Course | (WWGE) | 3 |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Spring | ||
| ENVS 400 | Applied Sustainability | 3 |
| ENVS 410 | Environmental Ethics | 3 |
| ENVS 499 | Internship in Environmental Studies (if not taken over summer) | 3 |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Credits | 12 | |
| Total Credits | 119 | |
Western is committed to doing our part to provide each student a clear path to graduation. This four‐year degree plan is a sample map for fulfilling requirements in the major and General Education. The pathway that you take to your degree may differ somewhat from this illustration, depending on where you start and the detours and side trips you may take along the way. You are responsible for ensuring your overall, upper division, and major‐specific credits as well as GPA requirements are fulfilled for graduation.