Restoration and Management of Wetlands

RNR 7017

Andy Nyman and Sammy L. King

Class at mouth of Rio Grande River

Course Description and Objectives:

This course is designed to introduce students to the basic concepts of wetlands ecology and management and to develop critical thinking skills related to the conservation, restoration, and mangement of wetland systems.  The specific objectives are for students to gain knowledge in:

 (1)  The major biotic and abiotic factors that create and structure wetlands;

 (2) Identification of wetland plants and animals that are indicative of a variety of wetland types;

 (3) Ecology and management of wetland-dependent wildlife;

Mandalay National Wildlife Refuge Field Trip

Class Format

To achieve the class objectives, we combine lectures with field excursions into wetlands around Louisiana and Texas.  Field trips are designed to meet specific course objectives; we meet with scientists, biologists and refuge managers of various state, federal, and private entities and discuss wetland-related issues in the field and in "classroom" (i.e., it will be away from school and "lectures" may be in the van, workshop, or elsewhere) settings.  We will meet many lab days, but not all.  Time will also be given off during the week to make up for the extended field trip to Texas.

Field trips include identifying and observing wildlife and discussing how to integrate an understanding of basic wetland processes and life-history characteristics of plants and animals into restoration, management, and conservation designs.

We visit a variety of restoration sites, including this pitcher plant bog owned by The Nature Conservancy.

White Lake Wetland Conservation Area, Louisiana

Bottomland hardwood forests and other floodplain wetlands are also addressed in the class.

Innovative restoration strategies that incorporate fire, agriculture, grazing, wetland management, and agreements among diverse stakeholder groups are studied in the classroom and in the field.  This particular photo is from The Nature Conservancy's Mad Island Preserve in Texas.

Students are expected to learn several common wetland plants.  The types of habitat conditions necessary to stimulate germination, growth, and survival of the plants, as well as their importance for food and/or cover for wildlife are also discussed.

Sometimes we go where we shouldn't have gone!  But what kind of wetlands class would it be if you didn't get stuck at least once!

Basic wetland processes, such as hydrology and soil development, are discussed in both lecture and the field.

Students will get exposed to both successful and unsuccessful management strategies.  A major objective of these site visits is to discuss (and observe) the linkages among management practices, the biotic and abiotic processes at a given site, and the resulting plant animal community responses.  

Sunset over the Texas Marsh

The class is observing waterbirds on wind tidal flats near the mouth of the Rio Grande.  The trip along the Texas coast provides a unique opportunity to examine how wetlands change along an aridity gradient.  Furthermore, there is substantial exposure to water development conflicts.