 Yellowstone Natonal Park is situated on one of the world's six known supervolcanoes. Above, hot springs in the northern part of the park. |
By Raul Lopez
Professors William Brown of the biology department and Christina Jarvis of the English department will be offering a new, interdisciplinary, six-credit course at Yellowstone National Park this summer, July 17 through 27, and will describe the course at an information session Thursday, Feb. 9 at 5 p.m. in 105 Fenton Hall.
The innovative six credit program, “Stewardship of Public Lands: Politics and the Yellowstone Ecosystem,” is designed to educate and involve students in political disputes about public lands, public resources, and environmental issues. The linked Biology and English courses will take place in the federally reserved park known for its wildlife, subalpine forests, and geothermal features. The park is centered over the Yellowstone Caldera, the largest supervolcano on the continent.
The ten-day program will feature activities that include: wildlife watching in Yellowstone’s Northern Range, ranger guided-tours through Yellowstone’s geysers, mud spots and hot springs, explorations of the park’s natural history and geology, day hikes highlighting the park’s biodiversity and micro climates, trips to Yellowstone Lake and the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, site visits with local ranchers, meeting with Buffalo Field Campaign members and other local residents, field lectures on fire ecology, tourism, sustainability and other topics, and other explorations through the park’s breathtaking scenery and majestic wildlife.
Students completing the program will receive General Education credit in the Natural Science, American History, and Speaking Intensive categories. Students must apply and pay the course fee by Thursday, March 1.
The program is open to all interested students. Please contact Dr. Christina Jarvis or Dr. William Brown for more information.
