Learn to Manage and Protect the Environment
If you’re interested in protecting wildlife habitats and the environment while meeting the ever-growing demand for wood products, clean water, outdoor recreation, and scenic beauty, then a minor in natural resources management is right for you.
You may be from a rural background, as many of our students at The University of Alabama are. Or your family may own a large tract of land that is an important source of income and enjoyment for you. Or you may simply have a passion for outdoor activities. The common thread is a love of the land as a renewable resource.
The natural resources minor will prepare you for professional opportunities in environmental monitoring, such as endangered species and wetland delineation, restoration of disturbed land, and management of forested lands. Students may work for federal, state, and local land management and planning agencies or non-governmental organizations and legislative bodies concerned with land use policies and laws. Graduates might also continue on to graduate school, law school, or pursue careers in teaching or business.
Earn a Well-Rounded Education
The southern United States has an abundance of natural habitats and outdoor recreational opportunities. These resources require educated managers to protect and preserve them.
Thus, the natural resources management minor is necessarily interdisciplinary because of the diverse knowledge that is required to manage natural resources. Students enrolled in the program select foundational courses in biology, geology, and geography, and then couple these courses with advanced courses focused on water, timber, landforms and the ecological relationships among these.
The minor culminates in learning experiences that apply this knowledge to real-world resource management. Students who complete this minor take with them a strong framework for decision making and an appreciation of the unique role of natural resources in the history and economy of Alabama.
Receive Hands-On Experience
Students in the Natural Resources Management Minor are encouraged to become involved in experiential activities that augment their in-class learning. Such experiences may take the form of internships, externships, or study at approved biological stations. At these stations, the student will be exposed to real-world natural resource management scenarios that will prepare him/her for a career in forest management, wildlife management, recreation and aesthetics management and floral and fauna management and protection.
Experts in the field will share professional and practical land management considerations with students who choose this minor and will share professional and practical management techniques and philosophies commonly used on Alabama’s rural lands.
UA’s J. Nicholene Bishop Biological Station
The University of Alabama’s J. Nicholene Bishop Biological Station, a family homestead of 480 acres in Hale County, plays a prominent role in the program. This unique inland biological station, managed by the Department of Biological Sciences, will be used to further undergraduate and graduate research in biodiversity and environmental processes.