College of Agriculture, University of Arizona, Arizona Land and People, Vol. 46, Number 1

Special Facilities housed in the School of Renewable Natural Resources (SRNR)

Advanced Resource Technology Group (ART)

Biomedical CommunicationsThe Advanced Resource Technology Group, formed in 1988, focuses on the use of geographic information systems (GIS) for resource assessment and analysis. The group provides leadership in such areas as GIS institutional development; GIS environmental database design and development; and application of cartographic and spatial analysis for agriculture, natural resources, and rural development. Besides using traditional remote sensing and GIS techniques, researchers at ART are developing the next generation of GIS-based modeling and simulation tools including artificial intelligence, intelligent visualization, synthetic environments, and semantic-based data access.

The ART Group provides the primary focus for research and extension in cartographic and spatial analysis for the College of Agriculture, but also encourages and facilitates cooperation among faculty with similar expertise and interests campus-wide. For new and previous GIS users from all departments ART helps with GIS hardware and software selection, provides advice and training on GIS database development and analysis, and offers technical review of proposals.

Furthermore, as an integral component of research and extension, ART faculty promote and assist in the development of GIS instructional resources and curriculum for the benefit of the college, university, and the State of Arizona. The U.S. Army and Navy have contracted ART to develop GIS-based management systems for land-use and threatened and endangered species.
Web site: http://grotto.srnr.arizona.edu/ART/


Cooperative Units –
U.S. Department of the Interior

USDA Forest Service Cooperative Research Unit

This unit maintains and expands cooperative relationships for research on southwestern ecological systems: grasslands and deserts, woodlands and forests, and riparian and freshwater areas. It is a part of the Rocky Mountain Research Station (RMRS) and exists through a formal Memo randum of Understanding between The University of Arizona and the USDA Forest Service RMRS.

Forest Service (FS) scientists assigned to the unit are eligible for attaining faculty status in the SRNR. They provide assistance and advice to graduate students in applicable research areas. FS scientists facilitate university access and cooperative activities with FS research programs, and provide coordination in mutual research goals. More specifically, FS scientists provide direct liaison between the School and the Coronado National Forest for research in natural resources management, and cooperate in the research programs carried out on the Santa Rita Experimental Range.
Web site: http://www.srnr.arizona.edu/isfs-base.html


School of Renewable Natural ResourcesCooperative Park Studies Unit (CPSU/UA)

Established in 1973, this unit was one of 21 units created through the National Park Service (NPS) to support park managers with advice by conducting research on resource-related issues in the parks. The goal is to connect researchers with managers. The unit is now a part of the Biological Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey. Principal university cooperators include the School of Renewable Natural Resources, and the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.

School of Renewable Natural ResourcesThe CPSU/UA supplies land managers with scientific baseline data, scientifically sound methodology, and science expertise to assist them in preserving, conserving and managing natural and cultural resources in the most practical, cost-effective and ecologically appropriate manner. The unit coordinates activities between land-management agencies and the university by providing graduate-level research opportunities and instructional support in a broad array of natural and cultural resource areas. Unit faculty also coordinate research activities among national, state and local agencies.

School of Renewable Natural ResourcesFaculty and students conduct field work in a number of NPS units from the Channel Islands National Park in California to Big Bend National Park in Texas, but concentrate most of their work in the warm desert areas. The unit also conducts research on military installations and other land-management areas.

Unit scientists hold faculty or research associate appointments at the university. A technical report series published by the unit allows dissemination of information about high-priority resource management questions. The series allows the flexibility of retaining considerable information on study design, methods, results and applications not afforded in formal scientific publications. The unit newsletter, Bajada, is published three times yearly and can be accessed through the unit’s home page.


Arizona Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit

School of Renewable Natural ResourcesBegun in 1950, this program, administered through the U.S. Geological Survey, facilitates cooperation among the federal government, the states, colleges and universities, and private organizations for research and education relating to fish and wildlife. Joint sponsors include the UA, the Arizona Game and Fish Department, the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Wildlife Management Institute.

Unit personnel are federal employees who are accorded full faculty status and participate in all aspects of research, education and training that occurs within the Wildlife and Fisheries Science program in the School of Renewable Natural Resources. The staff teach graduate courses, advise graduate students, and conduct research on applied fish and wildlife problems. They provide the information they collect to state and federal agencies and to interested members of the public.

School of Renewable Natural ResourcesStudent and faculty research covers a spectrum from the physiology of individual animals to the ecology of populations and the function of ecosystems. Much research is directed toward the recovery of endangered species, but there are projects on recreational fisheries, game management and environmental contaminants. Most of the research is conducted within the state of Arizona but occasionally projects are as far away as Alaska or Hawaii.
Web site: http://www.srnr.arizona.edu

For more information about the four units on listed on this page, contact School of Renewable Natural Resources The University of Arizona Biosciences East , Bldg. #43, Room 325 Tucson, AZ 85721 (520) 621-7255 Home Page: http://www.srnr.arizona.edu/


Document part of 1997 The Agricultural Experiment Station Today
Located at http://ag.arizona.edu/pubs/general/azlp46-1/renewable_resources.html
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