Careers such as Natural Resource Managers, Water Resource Specialists, and Environmental Compliance Officers are possibilities with this pathway. This is an Associates of Science Degree that is intended for transfer. Graduates who do not plan to transfer may pursue employment.

This Reedley College Natural Resources Degree offers students an opportunity to become a technician in a wide variety of outdoor jobs related to wildlife, recreation, and environmental services. Classes include academic and extensive hands-on training within a 700-acre RC forest and a 1.5-mile riparian zone on campus along the Kings River.

One of the most important natural resources, water, needs to be monitored, tested, and recycled. Vermilion’s Water Quality Science and Water Operations program focuses on water use in wastewater, water treatment, facility water systems, and water usage.

The Forest Resources program provides graduates with broad-based knowledge for the management of forest-based resources.

The Fish and Wildlife Management Technology program prepare individuals to conserve and manage wilderness areas and the life therein and manage wildlife reservations and zoological/aquarium facilities for recreational, commercial, and ecological purposes.

The Associate of Science in Natural Resources degree is designed to transfer. Therefore, completion of the degree alone does not qualify students for any specific career; however, completing an associate degree will improve overall employability and make students eligible for employment opportunities requiring an associate-level degree.

Students will learn how to apply and initiate wildland firefighting fundamentals, risk management, wildland fire behavior, human factors effecting human performance, chainsaw operations, hand tool use, prescribed fire and fuels reduction operations and federal physical readiness standards. Training will require arduous working conditions similar to those performed as a wildland firefighter.

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.

Have you considered spending your career outdoors or in a work environment that focuses on the natural environment around us? Your future career could include occupations such as a riparian/watershed specialist, recreation manager, forest/wildlife ecologist, or wildland law enforcement officer. The Associate of Science in Natural Resources prepares students to complete the preliminary education needed for these professions.

Wildland Fire Management is any work associated with wildland fires in rural and urban areas. Large fires are major incidents that often cross jurisdictional boundaries. Local, state and federal fire agencies have adopted uniform standards, training and operational procedures to better facilitate interagency functionality during fires.