PUBLIC LANDS IN THE AMERICAN WEST

University catalogue

The course fulfills the “complex problems” major requirement for the Undergraduate Program in Sustainable Development (UPSD). The American West is perhaps best known for the dramatic landscapes managed through a web of federal land management agencies. Indeed, western states have a land base that is at least 35％ public, and competing interests vie for limited resources and navigate a complex bureaucracy. Less well understood are the dynamics that arise from the interactions among different land ownership categories: federal, state, and private. Working landscapes are essential pieces of the cultural heartbeat of the region. This course will focus on: 1) the history of western settlement, highlighting the ways in which early Westerners divided up the land base and allocated resources; 2) the agencies in charge of managing federal public land including the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, and U.S. Park Service; and 3) state and private land, with a particular interest in the State Land Board. We will explore the legal and regulatory framework that guides land-use decisions, and study enduring resource access conflicts. Pulling from both academic scholarship and the gray literature in political science, environmental sciences, law, and organizational behavior, this course provides an interdisciplinary overview of governance challenges in the American West. Academic Schedule The course will start on Tuesday, May 31st and meet on Tuesdays/Wednesdays/Thursdays on Zoom (likely from 2-5 pm EST each day). The week of June 12th-19th the course will take place in the field in Colorado. The final week will be on Zoom on Tuesday, Wednesday Thursday, again likely from 2-5 pm EST each day. The course ends on Thursday, June 23rd. Modality The course will be offered in a hybrid format. The first two weeks and final (fourth) week of the class will be held entirely on Zoom. We will meet three times per week (Tues/Wed/Thurs) for three hours each session. Week three of the course (June 12-19) will be held in person in Colorado. There, we have the opportunity to visit a broad spectrum of land use types including federally managed forest and grasslands, protected parks, state land board parcels, and private ranches. Student will have some access to local leaders who will accompany us on various field trips to offer their perspectives. The class will participate in many kinds of field activities including hiking in federally designated Wilderness areas, visiting an oil and gas well on public lands, exploring an area recently burned by wildfire, and meeting with rural ranchers. To enroll in this course, you must apply to the Columbia Summer Field Course: Public Lands in the American West through the Center for Undergraduate Global Engagement (UGE)