CSS 385; Fall 2011: Syllabus
Conservation Management & Planning I (4 Cr.)
Lecture: M-W-F, 8:00-9:20am, CNR Room 25

Course Overview

Conservation Management & Planning I. (4 cr). Introduction to theory, processes, and techniques for the management and planning of conservation systems including conservation organizations, natural areas, and their uses; focuses on resource and user management programs and techniques as well as conservation planning processes in natural sites and working landscapes. Field trips are required. Prerequisites: Upper class standing or permission. (taught Fall only)

Course Format

The class meets three days a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday) for 80 minutes (8:00 – 9:20 a.m.) which includes a combination of lecture, laboratory and recitation. Classroom sessions will include traditional lecturing interspersed with small interactive group sessions to go over readings and to work on projects. Brainstorming, buzz-groups, case simulations, demonstrations, and other interactive methods will be used to exchange ideas and information during class. Throughout the course, students will actively participate in teams that assist in meeting the course objectives and to understand leadership techniques and principles.

From time to time, it may be necessary to adjust the class schedule to meet the needs of class projects. Therefore, the course schedule is tentative and it is your responsibility to keep track of announced changes.

This interactive style of teaching makes it imperative that students attend all classes. Attendance is mandatory because much of the work and most of your knowledge (and your grade) will derive directly from our classroom encounters. Class participation and attendance will be evaluated.

Course Objectives

Having successfully completed this course, you will be able to:

1.    Understand the differences, similarities & relationships between development, growth, and conservation and how they contribute to development of green infrastructure.

2.    Understand the benefits of management and the role of the social and policy sciences in delivering and sustaining those benefits.

3.    Describe the concepts of management and policy basic to the successful functioning of conservation programs, including recreation, tourism, and related businesses.

4.    Discern between types of management (i.e., Classical Management, Scientific Management, and Management by Objectives) and provide justification for their use in conservation.

5.    Identify the relationship between public and private entities and recognize their responsibility in providing conservation opportunities for all populations.

6.    Establish goals, objectives and budgets for effectively managing a conservation agency or organization based on concepts and principles learned in class and through participation in practical applications.

7.    Recognize the implications of specific actors (e.g., NGOs and community residents) and their interests (accessibility, economics and endangered species laws) to the policy process and recognize how they shape the outcome of the management of public and private programs and services.

8.    Be able to apply the principles learned in class to real-world working communities and landscapes.

Required Text

Benedict, M. A. & McMahon, E. T. (2006). Green Infrastructure: Linking Landscapes and Communities. Island Press, Washington. ISBN 1-55963-558-4

Reading Materials:  Additional material will be posted on the course web site.

Course Policies
To facilitate the efficient exchange of information and ideas, the following is emphasized:

1.   It is one mark of professionalism to be able to express yourself clearly and concisely following the rules of expression generally accepted by professionals. Therefore, spelling and grammatical errors will be marked down. All take-home assignments and projects must be typed in 12-point font with one-inch margins. Excellent help is available to students at the University of Idaho Writing Center.

2.   Information posed as “fact” must be cited in the appropriate APA style citation. Failure to cite information other than your own is considered plagiarism and may result in the forfeiture of your grade (for more information, see Student Policies on academic dishonesty).

3.   Students are expected to meet outside of regular classroom hours to work on class projects, homework and other assignments.

4.   Students are required to participate in at least 2 one-day field trips. (Alternate times will be made available to help accommodate student schedules)

5.   We will be available to meet with you to go over lectures, readings, or to help on projects during office hours. We are also available by appointment and other times as necessary. Please feel free to contact us (office, email or phone) if you need assistance.

6.   We will treat each other with respect and dignity. You are encouraged to critique each other’s ideas and arguments in a civilized discussion. However, it is inappropriate to attack a person or their values and beliefs.

7.  Cell phone use, including text messaging, will not be allowed in class. Use of laptops for note taking or class-related work is encouraged, however, use of laptops for web surfing, emailing, and other personal activities will not be tolerated.

Course Requirements
Participation

Attendance and participation in all classes will be evaluated. This course is built upon a series of in-class exercises and small-group projects which progressively build the accumulated knowledge base to successfully complete the course. Therefore, more than 3 unexcused absences are considered excessive and will result in your grade being lowered by 1 letter grade.. If you come to class but have not read the material or do not actively participate, you will not receive the points allocated for participation.

Team Project  

Green infrastructure refers to an approach to conservation planning at a landscape-scale, driven by a broad-reaching public process that results in an implementation strategy to protect a network of conservation and working lands. It advances beyond current methods of conservation planning by providing a solution for the continual land fragmentation and the resulting degradation of natural and social systems by incorporating goals for biodiversity as well as for the conservation of lands for human uses, such as working landscapes and cultural and recreational spaces.

Specifically, in this project you will apply the concepts of Green Infrastructure to understanding the people and the landscape of the greater Moscow/Palouse bioregion. You will come away with first-hand knowledge based on an adaptation and application of the tenets of Green Infrastructure to a working landscape. You will gain a working experience with a variety of conservation practices, such as working with stakeholders, grantsmanship, land use conflicts, and gain an understanding of the interrelatedness of many conservation practices. You will also gain an understanding of the intricacies of real world, small-town social and power systems. Finally, You will leave enriched with a fuller appreciation of the relationships between community, sustainability, conservation and heritage.

There will be a handout which covers the project in greater detail.

The Nature and Role of Service-Learning

The College of Natural Resources has committed to programs that integrate ecological, social and natural resource science and management systems that are guided, in part, by the following principles:

·     Use collaboration and partnerships to leverage resources to enhance the visibility, relevance and impact of programs;

·    Promote sustainability to achieve regional economic well being and natural systems protection; and

·    Seek diverse perspectives and knowledge to enrich our understanding of the region and of each other.

The Department of Conservation Social Sciences seeks to increase the capacity of the conservation community so that their contributions reflect a sensitive and responsible approach to the management of cultural and natural resource landscapes, the needs of communities, social-ecological systems and environmental change. Service-learning is widely use by the department to enhance the education program of its students by bridging the gap between theory and practice.

Our goal is to collect and integrate conceptual and practical information to support an application of the Green Infrastructure approach to conservation planning (Benedict and Bjornlund, 2002) in Moscow, ID, as a service-learning project.

The Critical Role of Service Learning in Education and Community Engagement

Service Learning has long been viewed as an enhancement to the more common student-centered projects widely used in planning and natural resources curricula. Sigmon (1979) defines service learning as an experiential approach premised on “reciprocal learning,” because learning flows from service activities to both those that provide service and those who receive it. At the University of Idaho service learning is widely recognized as a course-based, credit-bearing educational experience that: 

·    Provides an organized service activity that meets identified community needs;

     Requires that students reflect on the service activity;

·    Leads to gaining further understanding of course content and an appreciation of the discipline; and

·    Enhances their sense of civic responsibility.

“Academic service learning is a pedagogical model that intentionally integrates academic learning and relevant community service” (Howard, 1998). The literature on service learning identifies five additional characteristics that are of special significance to our class:

·    Places an emphasis on the different ways of understanding;

·    Values the human experience as a source of learning;

·    Requires reflective thinking to transform experience into learning;

·    Provides an ethical foundation that stresses citizenship to community, profession, and a larger public interest; and

·    Involves the participation, not just of students, but of faculty and community as learners through prolonged engagement.

Exercises (5)

Five exercises will ask you to critically examine various management tools used to guide conservation and community management. They will address: 1) evaluation of collaborative projects, 2) management by objectives, 3) resource allocation practices; 4) stakeholder analysis; and 5) sense of place application. Typically, each assignment will be due the following class period after it is assigned. Specific objectives and tasks for each assignment will be spelled out in detail when the exercise is handed out. 

Integrative Writing (5)

There will be 5 integrative writing assignments that provide an opportunity to explore in essay format what you are learning. Questions/topics will be assigned one week prior to the due date.

Final Exam

Take home, due Monday December 12, 5:00 pm.

Academic Honesty

Plagiarism is an especially vile form of academic dishonesty. Plagiarism may include 1) the direct copying of another’s writings with or without minor rephrasing, without citing the original source, and 2) not indicating directly quoted passages when a work is used (and cited) as a general source.  Academic honesty is governed by the University of Idaho Student Code of Conduct. All suspected instances of academic dishonesty will be referred to the Dean of Students. Sanctions, including receiving a grade of "F" for the course, may be imposed.

Plagiarism will NOT be tolerated.

Be sure to cite sources to support and lend credibility to all of your writing. Please be very zealous in citing sources for your ideas when you write. UI instructors now have at their disposal many sophisticated web-based instruments for detecting plagiarized text. Even a sentence or two of plagiarized work in a document is a form of scientific misconduct. It is very tempting and easy to copy text directly, but it works against the educational process and is a form of theft.

For excellent discussions on plagiarism see:

http://www.cnr.uidaho.edu/forres/academics/plagiarism.asp

http://www.uidaho.edu/class/english/plagiarismpolicies

http://www.webs.uidaho.edu/info_literacy/modules/module6/6_4.htm

Disability Support Services Reasonable Accommodations Statement

Reasonable accommodations are available for students who have a documented disability. Please notify the instructor during the first week of class of any accommodations needed for the course. Late notification may mean that requested accommodations might not be available. All accommodations must be approved through Disability Support Services located in the Idaho Commons Building, Rm. 306.

Web: http://www.access.uidaho.edu/default.aspx?pid=56098

Phone: 885-6307   

Email:  dss@uidaho.edu

Office: Idaho Commons Building, Rm. 306.