An Analysis of Range Conservation Academic Training

Abstract

A survey of range professionals employed by federal agencies was found to be an effective means for determining educational needs of range managers. Eighteen western universities produce essentially all Range Conservationists employed by federal agencies and two of these universities combined produce more than one-third of these professionals. Only 57.5% of the Range Conservationists in 1969 had BS degrees in range science, while 42.5% received sufficient course credits in range to qualify them for Civil Service appointments. Most Range Conservationists believed that ecology was the most important basic subject matter, while range management courses were most important for training as Range Conservationists. Respondents indicated that experience was helpful but not as essential as proper academic training.