ENVC 101 - Introduction to Watershed Management

Credits: 5
Variable Credit Course: No

Lecture Hours: 44
Lab Hours: 22
Worksite/Clinical Hours: 0
Other Hours (LIA/Internships): 0

Course Description: Introduction to natural resources management from the watershed perspective. Includes basic geologic processes related to aquatic systems, agencies and job opportunities involved in natural resource management, building quantitative thinking, spatial, and student success skills.

Prerequisite: MATH 097 with a C or higher (or concurrent enrollment.)
Meets FQE Requirement: No
Integrative Experience Requirement: No

Student Learning Outcomes

Describe the dynamic geophysical processes shaping watersheds including lakes, rivers, and wetlands, with emphasis on the Pacific Northwest.
Apply spatial tools and data to watersheds geographical and physical features to identify, measure, and compare watershed characteristics.
Quantify watershed characteristics, such as discharge and sinuosity in both metric and imperial units.
Locate and apply scientific information on environmental perceptions of watershed threats.
Discuss ecological and social consequences of human impacts on watersheds.
Investigate career opportunities in natural resources.
Identify the purpose and function of natural resource management agencies and institutions.

Course Contents

Watersheds and people; weathering and soils.
Mass wasting; erosion.
Glaciers and glaciation; hydrological cycle.
Generation of watershed runoff.
Moisture and precipitation.
Soil Moisture - movement, storage, and budget.
Energy exchange; water loss.
Snow accumulation, melt, evaporation.
Functions of large woody debris on channel processes.
Best management practices, policy, planning, and stream classifications.

Instructional Units: 5.5