REU Site: Restoring cattle ranches for sustainable land and water resources

这项授予位于德克萨斯州斯蒂芬维尔的塔尔顿州立大学的REU Site奖将支持2018-2020年夏季为期10周的10名学生的培训。研究将在主校区和位于德克萨斯州米尔斯县戈德斯韦特以南的汀布莱克生物野外站进行。科学的重点是与将一个正在工作的牛场改造成一个长期的生物野外站有关的环境问题。牧场曾经是一个广泛且有利可图的行业，几乎不关注环境。然而，对可持续土地和水利用的日益重视帮助重塑了牧场主管理其资源的方式，以最大限度地增加收益，同时将对周围生态系统的影响降至最低。来自三所大学六个不同系(生物科学、化学、环境工程、地球科学、社会学、野生动物、可持续发展和生态系统科学)的教师导师将指导本科生完成科学过程，解决与平衡经济可持续性和环境可持续相关的基本和应用问题。预计总共将有30名学生接受培训，主要来自研究机会有限的学校。通过从两年制和四年制拉美裔服务机构大量招聘，REU网站将成为有才华、代表性不足的学生从两年制大学过渡到四年制大学、从四年制大学过渡到研究生院的途径。学生将学习研究是如何进行的，许多人将在科学会议上展示他们的工作结果。由生物基础设施部资助的所有REU网站项目使用的通用网络评估工具将用于确定培训计划的有效性。项目结束后，将对学生进行跟踪，以确定他们的职业道路。学生将被要求回复通过NSF报告系统发送的自动电子邮件。欲了解有关该计划的更多信息，请访问http://www.tarleton.edu/timberlakeranch/REU.html，，或联系国际和平组织(克里斯托弗·L·希金斯博士，电子邮件：higgins@tarleton.edu)或联合国际组织(芭芭拉·C·贝洛斯博士，电子邮件：bellows@tarleton.edu)。

This REU Site award to Tarleton State University, located in Stephenville, TX, will support the training of 10 students for 10 weeks during the summers of 2018 - 2020. Research will be conducted both on the main campus and at Timberlake Biological Field Station, located south of Goldthwaite in Mills County, TX. The scientific focus is on environmentally related issues associated with converting a working cattle ranch into a long-term biological field station. Ranching was once a widespread and profitable business with little environmental focus. However, increasing emphasis on sustainable land and water use has helped reshape how cattle ranchers manage their resources to maximize their gain while minimizing their impact on surrounding ecological systems. Faculty mentors from six different departments (Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Environmental Engineering, Geosciences, Sociology, and Wildlife, Sustainability, and Ecosystem Sciences) across three colleges will guide undergraduate students through the scientific process as they address basic and applied issues associated with balancing economic sustainability with environmental sustainability.It is anticipated that a total of 30 students, primarily from schools with limited research opportunities, will be trained in the program. By heavily recruiting from 2-year and 4-year Hispanic Serving Institutions, the REU Site will serve as a pathway for talented, underrepresented students to transition from 2-year colleges to 4-year universities and from 4-year universities to graduate school. Students will learn how research is conducted, and many will present the results of their work at scientific conferences.A common web-based assessment tool used by all REU Site programs funded by the Division of Biological Infrastructure will be used to determine the effectiveness of the training program. Students will be tracked after the program in order to determine their career paths. Students will be asked to respond to an automatic email sent via the NSF reporting system. More information about the program is available by visiting http://www.tarleton.edu/timberlakeranch/REU.html, or by contacting the PI (Dr. Christopher L. Higgins at higgins@tarleton.edu) or the Co-PI (Dr. Barbara C. Bellows at bellows@tarleton.edu).