IVAN HILTON SCIENCE BUILDING INFORMATION
Highlands student extracting rock cores.

Natural Resources Management

forestry student using measuring equipmentThe Natural Resources Management Department recognizes, cultivates, and engages the skills of a diverse cohort of students and delivers a superior learning experience through dedicated teaching, hands-on learning, and research engagement.

Our vision is to be one of the leading programs for the study of natural resources management with a geology emphasis and for the placement of students in natural resources management graduate programs and careers.

Graduates from the Natural Resource Management Department have gone on to exciting careers with NASA, NM Environment Department, NM Office of the State Engineer, Barrick Gold Mining, US Forest Service, Los Alamos National Labs, among many others.

Get in touch with us to find out more about what your future could be.

Our Programs

M.S. Natural Sciences at Highlands

The Department of Natural Resources Management (NRM) Department offers an M.S. Natural Science degree with concentrations in Environmental Science & Management and Geology. The concentrations share a core set of foundational courses after which students develop individualized programs of study (course work plus independent research) that incorporate each student’s distinctive background, educational goals, and career objectives. The M.S. Natural Science degree provides a unique opportunity for students to broaden their educational experience to include courses from fields they are less likely to encounter at traditional graduate programs as they prepare for employment in industry, government, or education or entry into doctoral programs. The NRM Department also offers a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) graduate certificate that provides students GIS science and technology proficiency that can immediately be applied in the workplace. GIS Certification prepares students to map data for decision-making in business, environmental protection, risk assessment, utility planning and management, emergency response, land use planning, transportation planning, delivery route planning, real estate, crime prevention, and other areas. Working with our dedicated faculty, students can develop individualized programs of study to develop their academic interests and meet their career goals. Faculty have research projects in environmental science, geomorphology, water resources, paleoclimate, geochemistry, soil resources, hydrologic budgeting of northern New Mexico catchments, and aquifer mapping.

Environmental Geology at Highlands

The environmental geology B.S. – geology concentration is an interdisciplinary major concerned with the practical application of the principles of geology in the solving of environmental problems. Courses provide students with scientific knowledge, mathematical proficiency, research skills, technical abilities, and writing competencies to launch exciting and rewarding career in the geosciences.

Geographic Information Systems Minor and Certificate

The GIS minor and certificate program at New Mexico Highlands University provides hands-on experience with the latest geographic information system technology that can immediately be applied in the workplace, provide a highly marketable skill-base when seeking employment or pursuing an advanced degree in GIS. Students who complete either program will be highly prepared to use map data for decision-making in business, environmental protection, risk assessment, utility planning and management, emergency response, land use planning, transportation planning, delivery route planning, real estate, crime prevention, and many more.

EQUIPMENT FUNCTION
SOKKIA Total Station (4) Electronic/optical surveying instrument.  Determines coordinates of an unknown point relative to a known coordinate; measures angles and distances of survey points.
Trimble R2 GNSS Receiver Centimeter-accuarcy GNSS receiver.
Trimble TDC-600 Mapping grade GNSS field data collector. Controller for precision GNSS equipment. Androis operating system.
Trimble GeoExplorer XT GNSS field data collector. Enables digital mapping and improves field productivity.  Provides sub-meter accuracy, high quality photo capture, wireless Internet, and connectivity options.
Juniper Systems Cedar CT2X Tablets Sub-meter GNSS field data collectors. Android operating system.
Juniper Systems Geode GNSS Receiver Sub-meter GNSS receiver compatible with Android and iOS tablets.
Garmin GPS 60 and 62 series GPS Field-mapping grade GPS receivers useful for most environmental data collection applications.
GeoSLAM Zeb Horizon Lidar scanner High resolution hand-held lidar scanner for detailed terrain and infrastructure mapping.
Wingtra Drone High endurance fixed wing VTOL drone with cameras for terrain mapping and vegetation analysis.
DJI Mavic 3 Drone Quadcopter drone for mapping of small areas.
SOFTWARE FUNCTION
ESRI Enterprise Agreement Basic and advanced GIS data creation, management, and analysis software and online services. Full suite of extensions.
Harris L3 ENVI Remote Sensing data processing and analysis.
Trimble Terrasynch and Pathfinder Global Positioning System data collection and processing.
Trimble eCognition Object-Oriented Image Classification.
QT Modeler LiDAR and Terrain Visualization.
Pix4D Drone mapping and photogrammetry software.

Graduate Coordinator:
Michael Petronis: mspetro@nmhu.edu
Office phone: 505-454-3513

Requirements:

  1. Statement of educational goals
  2. Two letters of recommendation from faculty
  3. Transcripts from all previously attended regionally accredited institutions (3.0 GPA or higher). Will consider those who do not meet the GPA requirement.

Deadlines:

Fall: First Friday in February
Spring: First Friday in September
Decision to follow one month after application deadline.

Admit for fall and spring terms

GIS Program Coordinator:
Joe Zebrowski: jpzebrowski@nmhu.edu
Office phone: 505-426-2146

Requirements:

  1. Statement of educational goals
  2. Two letters of recommendation from faculty
  3. Transcripts from all previously attended regionally accredited institutions (3.0 GPA or higher). Will consider those who do not meet the GPA requirement.

Deadlines:
Rolling admissions
Admit for fall and spring terms

Course catalog information

Department of Natural Resource Management

Undergraduate course catalog descriptions: Natural Resource Management

The New Mexico Highlands undergraduate catalog outlines your options and the steps you need to take to complete degree requirements for your chosen major. To ensure the seamless completion of your degree, consult often with your academic adviser and utilize Highlands’ Degree Audit tool to keep track of your academic progress.

Graduate course catalog: Natural Resource Management

Graduate students are assigned to a faculty adviser within their area of study. The faculty adviser will help the student complete a program of study to satisfy the specific course requirements within their area, outlined in the Graduate Catalog.  The courses listed must satisfy the course requirements prescribed in the catalog of record. The academic adviser will provide guidance in completing your program of study.

Mission and Vision

The Natural Resources Management Department recognizes, cultivates, and engages the skills of a diverse cohort of students and delivers a superior learning experience through dedicated teaching, hands-on learning, and research engagement.

Our vision is to be one of the leading programs for the study of natural resources management with a geology emphasis and for the placement of students in natural resources management graduate programs and careers.

Faculty and Staff

John Obekpa

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT

jobekpa@nmhu.edu

P: 505-454-3263

Wiliam Jaremko-Wright, M.S.

INSTRUCTOR OF GEOLOGY

wjaremkowright@nmhu.edu

Jennifer Lindline, Ph.D.

DEPARTMENT CHAIR/PROFESSOR

lindlinej@nmhu.edu

P: 505-426-2046

Michael S. Petronis, Ph.D.

PROFESSOR

P: 505-454-3103

Daryl Williams, M.Sc.

STOCK ROOM MANAGER, FIELD & LAB EQUIPMENT

dewilliams@nmhu.edu

P: 505-426-2259

Joseph Zebrowski, M.Sc.

INSTRUCTOR OF GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM

jpzebrowski@nmhu.edu

P: 505-426-2146

Marine Foucher, Ph.D.

POST-DOCTORAL RESEARCHER AND GIS INSTRUCTOR

marinefoucher@nmhu.edu

P: 505-426-2077