COLUMN: The College of Natural Resources’ Reno connection
What does the College of Natural Resources at Utah State University have in common with the city of Reno, Nev.? Not that much, but I think that Reno’s theme “The Biggest Little City in the World” fits the College of Natural Resources perfectly.
I like to think of the College of Natural Resources (CNR) as the “Biggest Little College on Campus.” As far as the number of students goes, we don’t have to deal with the masses present in other colleges, but when it comes to research and accomplishments, we are definitely a big dog. Our departments are nationally recognized as some of the best in the country, and our reputation as a natural resource school reaches worldwide. We have students from as far away as Tibet and South Africa.
The CNR has recently undergone some reconstruction and we now have three departments. These departments are aquatic watershed and earth resources (AWER), forest wildlife and range sciences (FRWS), and the department of environment and society (ENVS).
The AWER department deals with everything from preventing the type of mudslides we had in Santaquin a couple of weeks ago, to preserving the diversity of aquatic invertebrates in wetlands. The FRWS department covers pretty much everything on land from forest ecology to geese to grazing goats. Finally, the ENVS explores any human aspect you can think of in natural resources including recreation, the social sciences, as well as using geographic information systems to do things like planning and development.
There really is a possibility to find a career in almost any field after an education in our college. Our size gives us lots of advantages. We tend to have smaller classes, and there is an opportunity to establish a relationship with professors. Although we are a diverse group, there is a great sense of community present in the college. Coupled with a supportive administration and professors with real-world experience, the CNR has an edge that is hard to beat.
Next week, Oct. 7 through 11, our college will be around showing off what we do and who we are. All week long the Forestry club will be serving a “Loggers Breakfast” on the Taggart Student Center patio. Between you and me, any breakfast that includes more than one pork product (bacon and sausage) is definitely a must eat.
We will have birds of prey in the Sunburst Lounge on Monday at noon, and on Thursday, Barrie Gilbert, a world leader in bear behavior and a professor from the CNR who you might have seen on the National Geographic Special “The Grizzlies,” will give a presentation on bear safety in the TSC auditorium at 4 p.m. That is just the beginning of what we have planned for the week. We will have lots of other events to let students and the community get to know our college so be sure to look for the posters and come on out and try the other activities we have planned, like logging sports and a campout on the Quad.
I’m very excited to represent the “Biggest Little College on Campus” this year and would love to answer any questions you might have about the College of Natural Resources. I have lots of great stuff on the agenda for this year and I’m sure we can make a positive contribution to the university and the community. We hope to see you all during NR Week and hope you take advantage of the opportunity to see what we have to offer. Thanks.
Dax Mangus is the College of Natural Resources senator. Comments can be sent to him at dax@cc.usu.edu.