| Coursework | Outcomes | Environmental Industry Needs | Advisory Committee | Internships | FAQ's | Admission | Tour of Field Sites | More Information |

The Ecosystem Management and Restoration Program is a one-year nonthesis M.S. option within the Department of Environmental Science and Engineering at the OGI School of Science & Engineering.

The EMR program provides a core of solid theory linked to field and laboratory applications . Field sites and laboratories provide concrete mental images and hands-on experience, while the theory lays the foundation on which to explain form and function. Students will collect, analyze, and evaluate samples and data from a variety of pristine and disturbed ecosystems throughout the year. As an integral part of the program, our students will see field sites, work at field sites, and will interact with working environmental professionals who manage the various site locations. The ecosystems we investigate may include high desert, old growth forest, wetland, agricultural, urban, and temperate rain forest systems.

The objectives of the EMR program are to integrate:

• Rigorous Environmental Principles
• Laboratory and Field Applications
• Computer Model Applications
• Policy/Regulation
• Project Management

The program emphasis is on timely issues including:

• Nonpoint Source Pollution
• Water Quality
• Toxicology and Ecological and Human Risk Assessments

Coursework

The curriculum integrates coursework in fundamentals, environmental media, and applications. The coursework in fundamentals provides depth and a rigorous background in environmental principles and theory. To achieve the necessary breadth in training, students take courses that cover a distribution of environmental media. The coursework in applications integrates the environmental theory with practical applications of the scientific principles. Examples of courses that fall under the various categories are shown below.

Fundamentals

• ESE 510 Aquatic Chemistry
• ESE 550 Environmental Microbiology
• ESE 530 Transport Processes
• ESE 562 Ecosystem Ecology

Environmental Media

• ESE 540 Subsurface Hydrology
• ESE 560 Environmental Soil Science
• ESE 539 Methods in Estuarine Oceanography

Applications

• ESE 570 Principles of Toxicology and Risk Assessment
• ESE 538 Introduction to Environmental Forecasting Systems
• ESE 589 Advanced Topics in Field Sampling and Analysis
• ESE 586 Environmental Law and Regulation
• MST 512 Project Management

Anticipated Student Outcomes

The graduates from this program will learn skills that give them greater power to solve present environmental problems and greater flexibility to deal with new problems encountered in the future. These skills include a firm grasp of fundamental scientific principles and their application to real-world scenarios, report writing, and project management. Students completing the program are expected to be especially well prepared to deal with issues of nonpoint source pollution and other landscape-related issues, although cleanup of specific sites is also featured in the program. Graduates will be prepared for work in industry, government, and for the pursuit of further work in academia.

Meeting the Needs of the Environmental Industry

In 1988, Oregon became the first state in the nation to enforce the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) allocation section of the Federal Clean Water Act (CWA). Now, more than 30 states throughout the nation are instituting TMDL regulations. Most of the focus of these regulations is on control of nonpoint source pollution.

The White House recently released a significant Clean Water Action Plan as a prelude to renewing the CWA. This action plan states that 40% of surveyed U.S. water bodies are impaired by pollution, with the leading source being polluted runoff. To date, more than 900 stream reaches in Oregon have been designated as water-quality limited. To respond to these issues, Oregon state agencies advertised for a total of 38 positions in 1996-1997 related to nonpoint source pollution management. Staff at these agencies tell us that the number of qualified applicants was limited. Educational institutions have not traditionally produced broadly-trained graduates who can quantitatively consider the many dimensions of watershed analysis and management. OGI's EMR program will supply just such students, who we anticipate will be in demand around the country over the coming years.

Additionally, regulatory agencies have begun to adopt risk-based management strategies in the cleanup of contaminant releases. The proper implementation of a risk-based corrective action (RBCA) requires adequate technical knowledge and experience. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality strongly recommends that people seek training in risk evaluation before using RBCA approaches in the field. The EMR program will provide this training.

Advisory Committee

We have assembled an external Advisory Committee to help critically evaluate the EMR program. We are excited about the strength and breadth of the committee; the Advisory Committee is comprised of members of the environmental community and represents local, state, and federal governments, industry, environmental consulting companies, and environmental interest groups. The role of the Advisory Committee is to provide feedback about the EMR program, such that the EMR program will meet the needs of the future potential employers of our students.

Admission

Students are encouraged to begin the EMR program in the Fall quarter, but may be eligible to begin the program in other quarters of the academic year, depending on their background. Students may pursue the EMR program on a full-time or part-time basis. Students interested in pursuing the EMR program in the department of Environmental Science and Engineering should have an undergraduate degree in science or engineering.

For an admission application or additional information, see www.ese.ogi.edu/admissions.html

More Information

Contact Therese Young, Department Administrator (tyoung@ese.ogi.edu).