Department of Natural Resource Management

Michele Dudash, Department Head
Department of Natural Resource Management
Edgar S. McFadden Biostress Laboratory 138
605-688-6121
www.sdstate.edu/nrm

Faculty

Professor Dudash, Head; Distinguished Professor Emeritus Flake; Distinguished Professors Brown, Jenks, W. Johnson; Professors Emeritus Berry, Gilmanov, Higgins, Larson, Scalet; Professors Chipps, Dieter, Gates, P. Johnson, Johnston, Smart, Troelstrup; Associate Professors Bertrand, Graeb, K. Jensen, Stafford, Xu; Assistant Professors Gigliotti, Grovenburg, Leffler, Perkins, Stafford, Wuellner; Instructors Bilbrey, Adjunct Professors Butler, Lundgren; Adjunct Associate Professors Besser, Blackwell, Braaten, Brundige, Klaver, Pervez, Shoup, Velpuri; Adjunct Assistant Professors Ahlering, Anteau, Apa, Austin, Bakker, Barnes, Cassirer, Fincel, Frink, Grassel, James, W. Jensen, Lehman, Longmire, Ott, Swanson, Turner, Walsh, Wells, Wilson.

Overview

The Department of Natural Resource Management provides undergraduate and graduate programs focused on improving the understanding and management of natural resources. The quality of life for many humans is intimately tied to the use and conservation of natural resources. Thus, educational opportunities in natural resource management at SDSU can lead to a diverse array of career opportunities. Departmental faculty and staff conduct research and provide outreach services that contribute to the understanding and management of natural resources on local to global scales.

Programs

Majors
Ecology and Environmental Science (B.S.) 
Natural Resource Law Enforcement (B.S.)   
Rangeland Ecology and Management (B.S.)  
Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences (B.S.)  
Minors
Rangeland Ecology and Management Minor  
Botany Minor  
Graduate Programs*
Biological Sciences (M.S.)
Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences (M.S.)
      Fisheries Sciences Specialization
      Wildlife Sciences Specialization
Biological Sciences (Ph.D)
Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences (Ph.D.)
* Graduate degrees are offered in collaboration with the Graduate School. For details, see the Graduate Catalog.

Facilities and Services

The department is housed within the Edgar S. McFadden Biostress Laboratory at SDSU. The Cottonwood Station, Oak Lake Field Station, Volga Grassland and Wildlife Research Unit provide off-campus teaching and research facilities. The South Dakota Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit is located within the department which also serves as the tenure home for several faculty of the Geospatial Sciences Center of Excellence (GSCE).

Student Support and Engagement Opportunities

Student organizations conduct professional and social functions, serve as an excellent vehicle for students to get to know one another and the faculty, and to learn more about their future profession.

The Department of Natural Resource Management student clubs include:

• SDSU American Fisheries Society Student Subunit and the SDSU Wildlife and Fisheries Conservation Club (a student chapter of The Wildlife Society) are excellent organizations open to students in that major.
• The SDSU Ecology Club is a student chapter of the Ecological Society of America.
• SDSU Range Club  - the South Dakota Student Chapter of the Society for Range Management includes Range Science majors and other students that have an interest in the field of range management. 
• Judging Teams  - many Range Science majors choose to compete on the Plant Identification and the undergraduate Range Management Exam teams. These teams compete at international contests against teams from universities in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Students also help to conduct range plant identification contests at SDSU.