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WS Syllabus Template THE SKY ISLANDS PROGRAM: WILDLIFE CONSERVATION IN ACTION SPRING 2021: APRIL 8 – MAY 22 ACADEMIC SYLLABUS Faculty: Aletris Neils, PhD Contact Hours: We will all be in close contact, meeting every day throughout the course. There will be a number of “check-in days” where we will schedule student-faculty meetings. Students are encouraged to engage with faculty to discuss assignments or any other issues or concerns as needed. Class Meetings: The Wildlands Studies Sky Islands Program involves seven days per week of instruction and field research with little time off. Faculty and staff work directly with students 6-10+ hours a day and are available for tutorials and coursework discussion before and after scheduled activities. Typically, scheduled activities each day begin at 7am, with breaks for meals. Scheduled activities will include a variety of things including but not limited to lectures, discussions, hikes, and field research. Most evenings include scheduled activities such as guest lectures, structured study time, and workshops. When in the backcountry or at a field site, our activities may start as early as 4am or end as late as 11pm (e.g., for wildlife observation). Students should also expect to spend a few hours a day studying, writing in their journals, and completing readings. It is necessary for students to have a flexible mindset and to be able to accommodate a variety of class, activity, and independent study times. Course Credit: Students enrolled in a Wildlands Studies Program receive credit for three undergraduate courses. These three courses have distinct objectives and descriptions, and we integrate teaching and learning through formal learning situations (lectures and seminars), field work, field surveys and hands-on activities. Academic credit is provided by Western Washington University. Extended descriptions follow in the course description section of this syllabus. 1. ESCI 437A, Environmental Wildlands Studies (5 quarter units / 3.35 semester credits) – Field study of the ecology, geology, and environmental challenges of our study region, including the role of human interactions. 2. ESCI 437B, Environmental Field Survey (5 quarter units / 3.35 semester credits) – Study and application of field surveys, sampling methodologies, data management, including on-site data collection, assessment, and analysis. 3. ESCI 437C, Wildlands Environment and Culture (5 quarter units / 3.35 semester credits) – Study of social-ecological systems, drawing on locally relevant cultural perspectives and historic and present-day human relationships with the landscape, the environment, and wildlife. Includes group dialogue and personal reflection to track one’s own learning. Readings: A Course Reader has been established for this program and will be provided to students in advance of the program or upon arrival. Readings include selections from academic primary literature, technical reports, book chapters, Federal Register documents, environmental impact assessments and planning documents. Field guides and textbooks supplement our field activities and are an integral part of our program. We will carry a shared reference library of these on all activities and backcountry field studies. Required texts: These books are required for the Sky Islands Program: 1. Leopold, A. 2020. A Sand County Almanac: And Sketches Here and There. Oxford University Press. 2. Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. 2015. A Natural History of the Sonoran Desert. University of California Press. 1 These books can be purchased at bookstores or at various online retailers for under $30 (SecondSale and other sites typically carry them used). There are older versions of both books available, however please get these newer versions so we are all reading the same accounts. You may choose to bring along a Kindle or other e-Reader, which will save space and weight in your pack. However, please be aware that electronics may NOT be reliably recharged at most of our field sites and are also prone to failure in our very dusty field conditions. If you do bring an e-Reader, it is up to you to make sure it is sufficiently charged and protected from the elements; a failed electronic device is no excuse to miss readings. *Please note: Students should read Chapters 1-11 of A Natural History of the Sonoran Desert BEFORE arriving in Tucson; there will be a quiz covering this material in the first days of the course. Contents of this Syllabus: I. Program Overview & Outline II. Learning Objectives III. Course Descriptions IV. Assessment V. Grading Scheme VI. General Reminders VII. Academic Schedule & Course Content VIII. Reading List I. Program Overview The Sky Islands program introduces students to the flora, fauna and conservation challenges of the Madrean Sky Islands’ diverse ecosystems. The Madrean Sky Islands, or ‘mountain islands’, are surrounded by ‘desert seas’, forming a geological chain that connects the northern end of the Sierra Madre Occidental from Mexico with the southern Colorado Plateau. The sky islands are well-known for their incredible variety of unique habitats and rich flora and fauna, and we will investigate the natural and anthropogenic processes that threaten these wildlife populations, explore and participate in on-the-ground conservation activities, and analyze the ecological and community impacts of government policy, resource management practices, and development activities. We will explore the Sky Islands by road and foot as we interact with threatened and endangered species and their habitats and gain skills in conducting field studies. We hope to do this in the company of local biologists, land managers, conservation practitioners, researchers, industry representatives and community members, but we are also prepared to study and learn as an independent team if needed. Participants will gain experience, skills, and understanding in three inter-related academic domains. These include: 1) Field research methods through a hands-on introduction to field methods for biological research regarding ecology, natural history, and conservation; 2) Ecology, conservation, natural resource management, and sustainable development in the Sky Island regions, and; 3) Culture and its environmental impact including an exploration of indigenous history and current issues with particular attention to relationships between society and the natural environment. Our learning methods will be experiential and academic. We will learn through engagement with people, places, plants, and animals, as well as through academic means such as lectures, readings, and discussions. Our learning will be both traditional and communal, with each team member striving to bring new insights to the group and analysis of wide- ranging experiences. The Madrean Sky Islands represents the place where the southern extent of the Rocky Mountains to the north blends with the northern extent of the Sierra Madres of Mexico. It is the place where temperate species such as grizzly bears and wolves once mingled with neotropical predators such as jaguars and ocelots, and in some cases still do. With more isolated mountain peaks than any other state, Arizona’s active geologic history has played a large role in creating the rich ecological diversity found across the southwest. Arizona hosts an enormous diversity of species, many of which are found nowhere else in the United States and some with home ranges that span the international border. Unfortunately, the state’s economic interests, and the country’s national security interests, are very often at odds with this incredible 2 natural splendor. Throughout our program, we will explore the complex interface of human-wildlife coexistence and balancing economic priorities with wildlife conservation. We will develop skills needed to conduct scientific research and will directly participate in wildlife conservation. When we investigate the Mexican wolf reintroduction program and visit the famous ‘Escudilla Mountain’ that once served as the castle for the last grizzly in Arizona, we will experience the difference between natural carrying capacities and social carrying capacities and how managers must consider both. The Sky Islands are also the perfect setting to collectively study island ecosystems, the impacts of land management and the effects of climate change. While some sky islands serve as refugia for boreal species stranded by warming climates since the last glacial period, others host localized populations of plants and animals that tend towards speciation, similar to oceanic islands such as the Galápagos Islands of Ecuador. The program is guaranteed to provide students with a deep understanding of the Sky Island landscape, the unique challenges faced by this region, and actions that can be taken to solve complex, environmental issues. Finally, we will look closely at the interrelated lives of wildlife and the region’s human residents. As we explore what is being done throughout the southwest to protect and restore wildlife communities and the habitats they rely on, these lessons gain real-world context as we review the history of use and current political agenda. We hope to deepen this study by engaging local communities, Tribal members and state officials to gain understandings of the impacts of wildlife management on the individual, local, and state-wide residents. We will discuss the effectiveness of current policies and contemplate options to protect wildlife in the region, while balancing cultural and economic interests. Team Activities & Program Itinerary
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