human dimensions

The effects of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill in Alaska are still felt on the landscape of Prince William Sound. The area is also seeing anincrease in tourism and recreation as infrastructure has made the area more accessible. New research undertaken in part by Dr. Randy Gimblett in the School of Natural Resources and the Environment asks: How do recreation and subsistance activities interact with a region still recovering from the Exxon Valdez Oil spill?

Dr. Shaw gives Grey Whale a kiss in San Ignacio, Baja California.

History is full of stories of how environmental stress can hasten social and economic collapse. However, if you take a closer look, you find that the notion that environmental stress leads inevitably and directly to social collapse masks a more complicated, and often more hopeful, model. For example, extreme drought has triggered both social collapse and ingenious management of water through irrigation. Human responses to the environment lead to the development a complex web of multidirectional connections in time and space.

Our Rangeland & Forest Resources program area includes academic programs for graduates and undergraduates in Rangeland Ecology & Managment.