Rangeland Management - Miles Community College

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The program course requirements are presented in sequence. Part-time students and others who cannot follow this sequence should check course descriptions in the catalog to determine prerequisites and should consult their academic advisor regarding the order in which they take classes.

Students should consult the catalog of the institution to which they expect to transfer and should select appropriate courses in consultation with their advisor.

Associate of Science
Natural Resources &
Rangeland Management

This program utilizes applied plant and animal sciences to manage the northwestern rangelands by balancing competing demands on the environment. Students will consider the soil, plants, and animals as a whole in their resource management plans. They will contemplate domestic grazing, wildlife impact and other land uses within the framework of the total resource management. This degree is meant to transfer to a Bachelor of Science program to prepare students for employment with state and federal land management agencies. Some of these agencies include the USDA, US Forest Service, Natural Resource Conservation Service, Bureau of Land Management, US Dept. of the Interior, US Fish and Wildlife Service, state water management agencies, or parks and recreation agencies. Many positions are also available through private sector employment, including mining, oil or forest product companies, consulting firms, water organizations and non-profit conservation and environmental organizations. Livestock producers also choose this field of study to improve the rate of return on their investment.

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A.A.S. Ag Production A.S. Agribusiness A.S. Livestock Management A.S. Wildlife & Fisheries Biology

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Required Core - 65 Total Credits

First Year - Fall Semester (15) Credits
ANSC 100 ANSC 100 - Introduction to Animal Science This course is an introduction to fundamental physical and biological phenomena forming the basis of animal science in agriculture.	Intro to Animal Science (3)
AGSC 101 AGSC 101 - Intro to Ag & Env Resources This course is an overview of the agriculture industry and includes discussion of careers and training or degree programs required for employment in agriculture.	Intro to Ag & Env Resources (1)
NRSM 101 NRSM 101 - Natural Resource Conservation This course is designed to introduce students to the benefits of range management and illustrate how the science of range management can be used on the farm or ranch. Range economics, range management plans, improvement and repair of rangeland and ecosystems will be covered. Co-requisite: NRSM 102 Natural Resource Conservation Lab.	Natural Resource Conservation (3)
NRSM 102 NRSM 102 - Montana Range Plants This course is designed to introduce students to the benefits of range management and illustrate how the science of range management can be used on the farm or ranch. Range economics, range management plans, improvement and repair of rangeland and ecosystems will be covered. Co-requisite: NRSM 102 Natural Resource Conservation Lab.	Montana Range Plants (1)
WRIT 101 WRIT 101 - College Writing I This is an introductory writing course with emphasis on writing to a targeted audience. College Writing I prepares students for success in a wide variety of academic and vocational writing concerns. The writing process, formal voice, audience concerns, close reading strategies, effective styles and techniques, and the use of the computer as a writing tool are covered. Asserting and supporting a central claim and using MLA documentation and format are addressed. Pre-requisite: WRIT 095 Developmental Writing, WRIT 097 Reading, Reasoning, and Writing, or WRIT 100 Composing Mindfully: Reading, Reasoning, and Writing or appropriate placement on Accuplacer, ACT or SAT examination scores.	College Writing I (3)
BIOB 160 BIOB 160 - Principles of Living Systems Survey of cellular organization and functions. Topics covered will include biological macromolecules, cell structure and organelles, energy pathways, cell cycle, genetics, and biotechnology.	Principles of Living Systems (3)
BIOB 161 BIOB 161 - Principles of Living Systems Laboratory The laboratory exercises will relate to cellular topics discussed in BIOB 160 Principles of Living Systems. Co-requisite: BIOB 160 Principles of Living Systems.	Principles of Living Systems Laboratory (1)

First Year - Spring Semester (17) Credits
COMX 111 COMX 111 - Intro to Public Speaking This course is intended to help students develop skills in speaking, organizing thoughts, and listening. Major emphasis is placed on the preparation and presentation of formal speeches.	Intro to Public Speaking (3)
BIOB 170 BIOB 170 - Principles of Biological Diversity This course is an in-depth examination of the five-kingdoms of organisms, with an emphasis on vascular plants and vertebrate animals. Survival strategies, nutrition, reproduction, and ecological and economic importance of organisms will also be covered. Co-requisite: BIOB 171 Principles of Biological Diversity Lab.	Principles of Biological Diversity (3)
BIOB 171 BIOB 171 - Principles of Biological Diversity Laboratory The laboratory exercises will relate to organism topics discussed in BIOB 170 Principles of Biological Diversity. Co-requisite: BIOB 170 Principles of Biological Diversity.	Principles of Biological Diversity Laboratory (1)
WRIT 201 WRIT 201 - College Writing II This course provides experience in writing essays based on close readings of more demanding texts. Students will come to understand more fully the intellectual demands of an academic discourse community by preparing essays designed to meet more rigorous expectations. WRIT 201 is designed to prepare transfer students to succeed in their junior- and senior-level courses by exposing them to Modern Language Association (MLA) and American Psychological Association (APA) documentation, critical thinking strategies, and logical construction of arguments. Students will complete developed essays that emphasize writing as a process of drafting and revising. Prerequisite: WRIT 101.	College Writing II (3)
	OR
WRIT 121 WRIT 121 - Intro to Technical Writing Introduction to Technical Writing is designed to prepare students for job-related writing. Students learn to communicate information in order to do a job or make a decision. Topics covered include adapting messages to audiences, organizing paragraphs, revising for style, summarizing information, using definitions in reports, outlining, explaining a process, and researching. Specific applications are individualized according to students' career plans and are chosen from several categories, including effective letter writing, short report writing, proposal writing, research writing, and formal report writing from analyzed data. Pre-requisite: WRIT 095 Developmental Writing or appropriate placement on Compass, ACT or SAT examination scores.	Intro to Technical Writing (preferred) (3)
M 121 M 121 - College Algebra This course covers the concept of functions; complex numbers; and solving systems of equations, sequences, and series. Functions investigated include linear, quadratic, polynomial, exponential, and logarithmic. Students who enter this class with lower than a grade of “B-” in the pre-requisite course will be required to enroll in a regularly scheduled two hours per week of supplemental instruction and academic support (NC 021) where attendance and participation will be part of the student’s grade in M 121. Prerequisite: M 095 Intermediate Algebra, or appropriate placement on COMPASS test.	College Algebra (4)
CAPP 120 CAPP 120 - Introduction to Computers This course emphasizes the practical aspects of today's computing environment. Instruction includes the basic computer architecture and operation, hardware, operating systems, network communication, ethical issues associated with computers, and aspects of integrated software with an emphasis on business applications. Co-requisite: CAPP 120A Introduction to Computer Applications.	Intro to Computers (3)

Second Year - Fall Semester (17) Credits
CHMY 121 CHMY 121 - Intro to General Chemistry This is an introductory general chemistry course. Topics covered include measurement systems, atomic structure, chemical periodicity, bonding, chemical reactions, acid-base chemistry, and nuclear chemistry. Prerequisite: M 090 Introductory Algebra or M 100 Introduction to Technical Math, ACT score of 18 or higher in Math or Compass Placement score of 44 or higher on the Algebra section. Co-requisite: CHMY 122 Intro to General Chemistry Lab.	Intro to General Chemistry (3)
CHMY 122 CHMY 122 - Intro to General Chemistry Laboratory This is an introductory general chemistry course. Topics covered include measurement systems, atomic structure, chemical periodicity, bonding, chemical reactions, acid-base chemistry, and nuclear chemistry. Prerequisite: M 090 Introductory Algebra, or M 100 Introduction to Technical Math or an ACT score of 18 or higher in Math or Compass Placement score of 44 or higher on the Algebra section. Co-requisite: CHMY 121 Intro to General Chemistry.	Intro to General Chemistry Lab (1)
NRSM 235 NRSM 235 - Range and Pasture Monitoring This course is designed to introduce students to the benefits of range management and illustrate how the science of range management can be used on the farm or ranch. Range economics, range management plans, improvement and repair of rangeland and ecosystems will be covered. Co-requisite: NRSM 102 Natural Resource Conservation Lab.	Range and Pasture Monitoring (1)
NRSM 240 NRSM 240 - Natural Resource Ecology The class will focus on the physical and biotic processes of ecosystem function, including natural and managed ecosystems such as rangelands, wildlife habitat, watersheds, and disturbed environments. This course includes an embedded lab. Prerequisite: NRSM 101 Natural Resource Conservation, NRSM 102 Natural Resource Conservation Lab.	Natural Resource Ecology (3)
ECNS 201 ECNS 201 - Principles of Microeconomics This course focuses on model building, production possibilities, frontiers, economic systems, and resource allocation. Market structures will be examined by comparing perfect competition to monopoly, oligopoly, and monopolistic competition. Market power, labor, and public choice will be covered.	Principles of Microeconomics (3)
ENSC 245 ENSC 245 - Soils This course covers soils and their properties as components of landscapes and ecosystems. The application of soils knowledge to problems in environmental sciences and the management of agricultural, wildland, and urban landscapes will be covered. The course consists of two (2) credits lecture and one (1) credit lab.	Soils (3)
	*Humanities Elective (3)

Second Year - Spring Semester (16) Credits
CHMY 123 CHMY 123 - Intro to Organic & Biochemistry This is an introductory organic and biochemistry course covering functional group organic chemistry and important biochemical structures, concepts, and processes. Prerequisite CHMY 121 Intro to General Chemistry, or CHMY 141 College Chemistry I. Co-requisite of CHMY 124 Intro to Organic and Biochemistry Lab.	Intro to Organic & Biochemistry (3)
CHMY 124 CHMY 124 - Intro to Organic & Biochemistry Laboratory This lab focuses on functional group organic chemistry and important biochemical structures, concepts, and processes. Co-requisite: CHMY 123 Intro to Organic and Biochemistry	Intro to Organic & Biochemistry Laboratory (1)
GPHY 284 GPHY 284 - Introduction to GIS Science and Cartography GPHY 284 is the first in a series of three courses in Geographic Information Science. Students are introduced to fundamental principles, concepts, and quantitative methods in GIS and modern cartography, with emphasis on spatial data and thematic map design. The embedded lab exposes students to spatial data models and techniques of computer mapping in cartography. This is a three-credit-hour course that consists of two hours of lecture and two hours of lab per week. Students completing this course will understand fundamental spatial data models, principles, data processing techniques, and how they are used to create graphic output representing geographic phenomena.	Introduction to GIS Science and Cartography (3)
STAT 216 STAT 216 - Introduction to Statistics Traditional and resistant estimators of location and spread, fundamentals of inference using randomization and classical methods, confidence intervals, and tests of hypotheses. Prerequisites: M 095 Intermediate Algebra or M 105 Contemporary Mathematics or appropriate placement scores.	Intro to Statistics (3)
	*Humanities/Diversity Elective (3)
	*Social Science Elective (3)

Core Requirements List

Upon completion of this program
graduates will be able to demonstrate:

Transfer as juniors to a Bachelor of Science Program;

Obtain a strong science background in biology, chemistry, biochemistry, ecology, and the specifics of animal and soil science;

Calculate bioavailability, forage usage, stocking rates, and Animal Unit Equivalent;

Communicate effectively both orally and in writing;

Master basic computer and introductory GIS skills.

A.S. Natural Resources & Rangeland Management

Required Core - 65 Total Credits