Sustainable Military Lands Management Certificate

Course Descriptions

NR 550 – Introduction to Military Lands Management (3 cr.)
This course provides an overview of military lands in the U.S. from within several different contexts – historical, geographical and environmental. It provides an overview of how military lands evolved as part of the federal land system to today's current inventory and uses of these lands, to include the role of the military in the early National Parks system and the various federal legislative actions that codified these lands. The course content will include discussions on the purpose and use of these lands as they relate to national defense requirements. It will also discuss the principles and implementation of environmental stewardship of the natural and cultural resources on these lands. Current day issues surrounding military lands, to include encroachment and multi-purpose uses, will be included. Case studies involving military installations in various regions of the U.S. will be included throughout the course.

NR 551 – Cultural Resources Management on Military Lands (3 cr.)
This course provides an introduction to cultural resources laws and policies as they apply to military lands, and the practices commonly employed in the management and preservation of these diverse and non-renewable resources. It covers a broad range of heritage resources found on military installations and lands, including prehistoric and historic archaeological sites, historic buildings and structures, traditional cultural properties, historic landscapes archaeological artifacts, and Native American sacred sites, sacred objects, and human remains. Various tools and techniques for accomplishing heritage management goals and complying with federal and state legislation will be reviewed. Numerous cases studies from military lands, to include stakeholder involvement and consultation, will be included.

NR 552 – Ecology of Military Lands (3 cr.)
This course will focus on the landscape ecology of military training and testing areas. It covers ecological principles and the impacts of disturbances caused by military training and testing activities, to include scientific approaches to measuring and quantifying these impacts. A particular focus of the course will be on the ecology and management of threatened and endangered species, and their associated habitats on military lands. Regional case studies of soil erosion management and species management from military lands throughout the U.S. and in Europe will be incorporated.