Human Dimensions of Natural Resources
Our leadership and collaborative research across parks, public and protected lands, and urban ecosystems have helped define human connections to the natural world for over 90 years. We’re a great fit if you care about conservation, outdoor experiences, and making a difference in the world, but also want to understand the human side of environmental challenges.
Our research tackles complex environmental challenges, such as climate change and biodiversity loss across the globe, ensuring the sustainable and equitable management of natural resources throughout diverse communities and landscapes.
As a student in HDNR, YOU WILL:
innovate, collaborate, and discover
Who are we?
As one of the few programs nationwide offering comprehensive, conservation-focused degrees from the bachelor’s to doctoral levels, we offer unparalleled opportunities to advance conservation for both people and nature.
1st
academic program founded to meet the need for conservation leadership in the United States.
40
through the HDNR Center for Protected Area Management, we’ve partnered with conservation professionals in 40 countries around the world to safeguard protected areas.
212
acres of land serving as an Environmental Learning Center, where students and community members explore the outdoors through hands-on environmental education.
Our programs
Find your path.
Global
Social-Science Research
We integrate interdisciplinary social science approaches to address complex environmental challenges and inform evidence-based conservation decisions globally.
Our impact:
- Founded the Center of Protected Area Management, which has worked with conservation practitioners from 40+ countries, providing training to manage and safeguard protected areas.
- Founded the 212-acre Environmental Learning Center, providing experiential environmental education opportunities for the CSU and greater Fort Collins community. Reaches 5000+ people annually.
- Founded the first academic program in Conservation Leadership in the United States.
- Founded and maintains the international journal, Human Dimensions of Wildlife to foster cross-disciplinary collaboration.
- Provides leadership in the area of human dimensions of wildlife management with a $1.5 million research program.
- Founded Pathways, an annual domestic and European conference that serves as an international gathering and training program for wildlife conservationists. Since its inception in 2009, the conference has brought together more than 2,800 people from 220 countries and 41 US states.
