Defining Resource Management & Conservation

RMC students "Conservation" is an inclusive term for the dynamic work of balancing human needs with maintaining and improving those natural systems upon which we depend. To "conserve" can entail approaches as diverse as preservation, sustainable use, mitigation, and restoration.

Conservation is at the core of why we educate and train professionals. For our students conservation is not simply scientific understanding of the natural systems, nor just conducting research within the natural world. Both of these are necessary activities but not sufficient. Ultimately, conservation is the lens through which decision-making, and the subsequent management of the implementation of those decisions, is accomplished.

We define "resource" not as just as the natural resources, but also as knowledge, stakeholders, networks, expertise, funding, and time. We define "management" as the administrative, communication, and facilitation skills required to critically utilize these resources to develop effective and sustainable solutions to the complex challenges that our graduates face as professionals.

Thus a degree in Resource Management and Conservation provides students with the theory and skills to marshal the requisite resources in a timely fashion, to counteract forces that threaten the natural systems, organizational structures, and social institutions required to maintain a sustainable society.