Spring 2007 Course List

Graduate Courses, MS in Environmental Science and Policy. To register for courses, visit the College of Graduate Studies.

ESP 5040  Environmental Consulting (3 credits) Instructor: Tom Shevenell

Wednesdays, 6-9 pm (course begins Jan 31)

The demand for qualified environmental consultants in has grown rapidly since the mid 1980’s as businesses and industries have responded to state laws and regulations promulgated as the result of environmental laws at the federal level. A major focus of the environmental consulting industry is to work with the business community and the government regulators to create solutions for effective management of environmental issues arising from these laws.  This course is designed to train students on scientific degree tracks in becoming valuable employees in the environmental consulting industry by introducing students to the technical skills, project planning, and business management skills in demand by environmental consulting firms.  The course focuses on the technical aspects in areas such as brownfield redevelopment, natural resources and environmental permitting, environmental compliance, sustainable development planning, etc. Course elements stress the use of industry standard procedures and state regulations, data and information management, report preparation, development of findings and opinions, and verbal presentations.

ESP 5210  Forest Science  (3 credits) Instructor: William Smith

Mondays, 5:30 – 8:30 pm (Course begins March 5)

This course will provide an introduction to the fundamentals of forest science and the environmental issues central to contemporary forest management.  Topics to be covered include forest values, forest ecology, forest soils, forest stressors, biodiversity, monitoring, and management.  A field trip to the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest and another location in the White Mountain National Forest is included.

ESP 5330  Watershed Management & Planning (3 credits) Instructors: Kevin McGuire and June Hammond Rowan

Tuesdays, 3:30 – 6 pm (Course begins Jan 30)

Managing human impacts on watersheds and water resources and understanding the interrelationships among land-use, soil, and water will be addressed. Watershed management will focus on controlling the amount and timing of water yield, stormflow, water quality, and sedimentation with socio-economic considerations. Human uses of and impacts on water are examined with an emphasis on principles of water resource and watershed planning. (prereq.: A prior hydrology course or permission from the instructor.)

ESP 5500  Special Topics: Chemical Limnology (2 credits) Instructor: Steve Kahl

Thursdays, 3:30 – 6 pm (Course begins Feb 1)

Chemical Limnology is the second course in the limnology series, providing students with an expanded under­standing of the physico-chemical processes that control surface water chemistry.  Students will work with the substantial databases available for New England lakes, evaluating current scientific and regulatory issues, and data validation methods.  Lakes will be studied as systems that are chemically integrated with their watersheds.  The focus will be on major analytes and how lakes function, although the course content may include topical issues such as trace metal mercury biogeochemistry, depending in the interests of the students.  The course will be a combination of lecture, seminar, and data exercises, intended for advanced undergraduate and graduate students.  Each graduate student will lead a class session on a topic of their choice in the second half of the course.   Students are expected to have a general understanding of how lakes function, familiarity with chemical principles, experience with spreadsheets or database software.  Permission of the instructor is required. 

ESP 5500  Special Topics: Natural Resource Inventories - Wildlife (3 credits) Instructor: Rick Van de Poll

Mondays, 8:30 am  – 12 pm;  Saturday,  May 5, 2007, 8:30 am – 4:30 pm (Course begins March 5)

This course is intended to help environmental researchers understand how to complete a natural resource inventory with specific emphasis on wildlife sampling principles and techniques. Included is the understanding of the theory and practice of wildlife biology and the assessment of wildlife habitats. Wildlife sampling methods will be reviewed and field trips will visit various wildlife habitats to provide hands-on experience in wildlife sampling using standardized methods.

ESP 5610  Environment and Society (3 credits) Instructor: Brian Eisenhauer

Tuesdays & Thursdays, 2-3:15 pm (course begins Jan 30)

This course will to introduce students to the study of environmental sociology and to develop critical thinking skills facilitated by the application of sociological perspectives.  Environmental issues and problems are often viewed as technical ones, to be resolved by the application of scientific and technical means alone. This common perception will be critically examined in this class, and we will see that environmental problems, their solutions, and even ideas of what the environment is are grounded in social systems and cultures. Environmental problems are problems for society that challenge and threaten our current system of organization, and are also problems of society – it is our systems that produced these problems and must adapt to address them.  The class will examine material, ideal, and practical elements of environmental issues. Current environmental problems and policy issues will be debated, and their connections with society and culture will be the focus of the course. The meanings of nature and wilderness will be discussed. Other topics include: environmental justice, the history and workings of the environmental movement, greenwashing, public attitudes towards the environment, and the idea of sustainability.

ESP 5710 Science Colloquium Series (1 credit per year)
Jan 31, Feb 28, Mar 14, Mar 28, Apr 11, Apr 18, Apr 25  4:00 – 5:00 pm; Feb 23 2:30 – 3:30pm
This graduate seminar is designed to be a core course in the Environmental Science and Policy program. It will focus on the analysis on contemporary issues in environmental science. Specific topics will vary from year to year and will be tailored to the interests of the students enrolled and faculty interests. The course will create a foundation of knowledge of contemporary issues. It is also expected that it will help students refine their research interests as well as be exposed to new ideas through interaction with others in the course.