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Howdy,
My name is Roel Lopez and it is an honor to be your new department head. We have been busy reinvigorating the department and wanted to use this new platform as a way to provide information to valuable stakeholders like you about exciting progress we're seeing in the Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management. As a new department, we have a unique, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to rethink how we deliver our undergraduate and graduate programs.
When we thought about the caliber of education we wanted to offer, our vision started with our students—the next generation of field experts, lifelong learners and professionals who will work at the nexus of research and Extension in rangeland grazing, land stewardship, aquaculture and wildlife management. There is a strong interest and need to be relevant to our students and those we serve and relevant in impact as we advance stewardship of natural resources. We're developing a program that realizes the land grant mission in our teaching, research, extension and engagement efforts. To do this, we're focused on making improvements in four key areas:
- Enhancing Our Curriculum: We have completely overhauled curricula to include new degree tracks and associated courses and emphasize field-based and high-impact learning experiences. We have added a summer field camp experience for sophomore and junior students and now require a managed internship program to round out our student’s educational experience. Our intent is to have the new curricula in place and operational by Fall 2022.
- Recruiting and Retaining World-Class Faculty: We recently hired five new faculty and have more searches planned this coming year. These new faculty will greatly enhance our teaching efforts, increase applied research that is timely and relevant to our stakeholders and translate and deliver that information via our Extension network to landowners, agencies, and industry.
- Improving Our Outdoor Learning Spaces and Facilities: We have been working diligently to define a collective land use strategy and optimize the use of our properties, like the Ecology and Natural Resources Teaching Area, to extend our reach and relevancy beyond campus. Efforts are underway to build new field classrooms and labs at some of these areas.
- Rebuilding Our Network: It is an exciting time for us and we want to grow our connections with former students and friends of the department. This past fall, we were able to welcome 150 former students to a joint tailgate with the Texas A&M Natural Resources Insitute. We are excited to continue hosting events and engagements like this in the future. Please feel free to share this newsletter with folks that may be interested in all that is being accomplished in RWFM. We also want to hear from you! Please contact me at roel.lopez@ag.tamu.edu with questions or just to say "Howdy!" Finally, we invite you to connect with us on our social media, linked at the bottom of this newsletter.
We look forward to sharing with you about all the exciting progress we've made to better serve our students, the state and beyond as we grow and evolve. Please read on to see just a few examples of how we're already working toward some of our goals. Until next time, thanks for all you do in the conservation and stewardship of our natural resources.
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Thanks & Gig 'em!Roel Lopez, Ph.D.
Professor and Department Head
Director, Texas A&M Natural Resurces Institute
roel.lopez@ag.tamu.edu
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| Trending News and Topics in RWFM
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Rangeland Faculty Develop Prescribed Burn Kit Dr. Morgan Treadwell, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service rangeland specialist, partnerd with other rangeland and prescribed burn scientists, specialists and stakeholders to create a communication kit to make it easier for landowners to educate the public and advocate for prescribed burns. This resource is available online to download for free.
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Achievements recognized by the Texas Section Society for Range Management
Faculty and students in the Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management were among those recognized by the Texas Section–Society for Range Management, TSSRM, at their annual meeting recently.
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Researchers partner to study Ocelot relocation
A team of collaborators, including Dr. Roel Lopez, will study the viability of potential actions designed to reestablish a population of ocelots in South Texas to help increase their numbers in the U.S. The collaboration includes Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute, a unit of Texas A&M AgriLife, in partnership with East Foundation, the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, Lindner Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife at the Cincinnati Zoo, the University of Tennessee Comparative and Experimental Medicine Program and Center for Wildlife Health, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
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Brittany Chesser receives Service Superior Service Award
Congratultations to Brittany Chesser for receiving the highest honor awarded by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. Chesser is an aquatic vegetation management program specialist and in this role, she helps develop, deliver, teach, implement and evaluate educational materials and resources related to the program. She is also lead diagnostic scientist for the Aquatic Diagnostics Laboratory, a role which has contributed to $5.5 million in economic impacts.
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Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management Webinar SeriesTune in for a series of educational webinars throughout 2022! Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service specialists will cover topics such as stewardship, grazing management, prescribed fire, pesticides and more. Learn More.
Aquatic Plant Management Series
Landowners and pesticide applicators can learn biological, mechanical and chemical strategies with this online, four-course aquatic vegetation series led by Brittany Chesser, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service Aquatic Program Specialist. Learn More.
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Preparing the Next Generation of Natural Resource Stewards We are dedicated to generating sound scientific research, translating and hosting science-based conversations and engaging the next generation of stewardship professionals. RWFM aims to teach the latest ecological and management principles to provide the most diverse and application-based education available in natural resource conservation. The applied professional expertise of our faculty combined with our extensive agency and industry network facilitates career paths for students. Our unique undergraduate degree focus areas and graduate programs prepare individuals for advanced careers with state and federal agencies, private industry, non-profit organizations and academia.
aglifesciences.tamu.edu | rwfm.tamu.edu
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