About The NRC Program

The Natural Resources Conservation major provides students rigorous academic training in the natural, conservation, and social sciences with hands-on field skills and field experiences from summer jobs, internships, and cooperative education positions with conservation organizations and the green industry.

Students learn about the ecology of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and how these systems can be managed to conserve biodiversity and protect ecosystem functions while providing sustainable benefits to society.

Students in the Natural Resources Conservation major focus in one of the following six concentrations:

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Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

In the Natural Resources Conservation program (NRC) we are committed to fostering a diverse, positive, and welcoming community. We are working to provide a safe, equitable, and inclusive environment through intentional and ongoing action, to celebrate and connect across differences, to respect individual needs, styles, and career goals, and to support, advise, and mentor students accordingly. Addressing historical imbalances and the harms of colonialism and white supremacy, specifically in the environmental conservation field, but also more broadly, is a moral responsibility that we all share. For more information on diversity, equity, and inclusion in the department please visit https://www.umass.edu/environmental-conservation/about/jedia.

Contact NRC

Natural Resources Conservation Program Director, Manager, Senior Lecturer II

Fletcher
Lena’s primary academic interests include forest ecology, old-growth forests, invasive species, and the ways that forest stands change over time.
Fletcher

Professor of Fish Conservation

Danylchuk
Dr. Danylchuk’s research is to understand the factors that naturally influence the life history and ecology of fishes and other aquatic organisms, as well as how natural and anthropogenic disturbances can influence the dynamics of their populations.
Danylchuk

Senior Lecturer of Quantitative Ecology, Assistant Program Manager and Chief Undergraduate Advisor for Natural Resources Conservation

MacLean
Meghan MacLean is passionate about collaborating with forestry, environmental, and community leaders at all levels to better understand the human-environment interactions that impact our forest ecosystems.
MacLean