Time Schedule:
David L Peterson
ESC 502
Seattle Campus
Examines management strategies for conserving natural resources in forest ecosystems of the Pacific Northwest and other North American bioregions. Examines alternative approaches to producing and restoring sustainable flows of wildlife habitat, water, fiber, and other resources in the context of forest productivity, biophysical environment, disturbance, and public policy. Offered: Sp.
Class Description
Forest Conservation Biology: Examination of management strategies for natural resource conservation in the context of forest ecosystem processes, structure, and function. Exploration of the fundamentals of forest dynamics in North American ecosystems, including ecological scale, productivity, biogeochemical cycling, and disturbance. Evaluation of alternative approaches for meeting biodiversity objectives as well as other management objectives related to forest productivity, wildlife habitat, water, and other resources.
Ecological restoration as a paradigm for forest conservation is addressed through classroom discussions, field trips and a project in which teams of students develop management plans for forested sites in the North Cascade Range.
Recommended preparation
Lectures and discussion will be based on readings from the text (Hunter, M.L. (ed.). 1999. Maintaining Biodiversity in Forest Ecosystems. Cambridge University Press, New York) and selected articles from the scientific literature compiled in a Course Pack available for purchase at BO42 Communications Building.
Class Assignments and Grading
1. Students will be given a take-home midterm examination of 5 questions each to be answered independently in 1,000 words or less. 2. As members of a team, students will compile a management plan for restoring second-growth forest based on data to be collected in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest as part of the April 14-15 field trip. Plans will be presented in written (approximately 5000 words) and oral form (presentations should be approximately 40 minutes, with 10 minutes for questions and discussion).
Group project report and presentation: 40% (group 50%, individual 50%), Midterm exam: 40%, Class participation: 20%. Late assignments will have a reduced score of 10% per day, except in unusual circumstances. Incomplete status for the course will be given only upon mutual agreement with the instructor, and with a substantial reduction in credit for individual assignments handed in late.
