Philip Burton, Professor Emeritus
Art Fredeen, Professor Emeritus
Staffan Lindgren, Professor Emeritus
Hugues Massicotte, Professor Emeritus
Chris Opio, Professor Emeritus
Katherine Parker, Professor Emerita
Paul Sanborn, Professor Emeritus
Ken Otter, Professor and Chair
Mark Dale, Professor
Ian Hartley, Professor
Dezene Huber, Professor
Chris Johnson, Professor
Kathy Lewis, Professor
Brent Murray, Professor
Oscar Venter, Professor, and FRBC/West Fraser Endowed Chair in Conservation Solutions
Ché Elkin, Associate Professor, and FRBC/Slocan Endowed Chair in Mixedwood Ecology and Management
Scott Green, Associate Professor
Roy Rea, Associate Professor
Lisa Wood, Associate Professor
Samuel Bartels, Assistant Professor
Jonathan Cale, Assistant Professor
Michael Preston, Assistant Professor
Diogo Spinola, Assistant Professor
Colin Chisholm, Adjunct Professor
Shannon Crowley, Adjunct Professor
Susan Grainger, Adjunct Professor
Dexter Hodder, Adjunct Professor
Michael Jull, Adjunct Professor
Jenia Blair, Senior Lab Instructor
Saphida Migabo, Senior Lab Instructor
Website: www.unbc.ca/forestry
The Forest Ecology and Management degree provides students with a thorough understanding of the science, philosophy, and practice of managing forested ecosystems. Through study and active learning experiences, students obtain a consistent and broad background in coursework that encompasses foundational and integrative topics. Given the range of knowledge and expertise needed to effectively manage and conserve forested ecosystems, students are provided an opportunity to select a minor and pursue a specialization consistent with the overall objectives of the degree. Although the degree is designed to expose students to contemporary knowledge and techniques drawn from a variety of disciplines in the natural and social sciences, students are encouraged to challenge conventional knowledge paradigms and approaches to forest management. The Forest Ecology and Management degree is accredited by the Canadian Forestry Accreditation Board and meets certification requirements for the Association of BC Forest Professionals. The University has two research forests (Aleza Lake Research Forest, John Prince Research Forest) available to students in this program.
Undergraduate students are required to take a total of 96 credit hours of program core courses in addition to a qualified minor as outlined below.
The minimum requirement for completion of a Bachelor of Science in Forest Ecology and Management is 123 credit hours.
Major in Forest Ecology and Management (BSc)
Major in Forest Ecology and Management (BSc Honours)
Minor in Forest Recreation
Minor in Natural Resources Planning and Operations
Major in Forest Ecology and Management
Program Requirements
Lower-Division Requirement
100 Level
| BIOL 103-3 | Introductory Biology I |
| BIOL 104-3 | Introductory Biology II |
| BIOL 123-1 | Introductory Biology I Laboratory |
| BIOL 124-1 | Introductory Biology II Laboratory |
| CHEM 100-3 | General Chemistry I |
| CHEM 101-3 | General Chemistry II |
| CHEM 120-1 | General Chemistry Lab I |
| CHEM 121-1 | General Chemistry Lab II |
| ECON 100-3 | Microeconomics |
| MATH 152-3 | Calculus for Non-majors |
| NREM 100-3* | Field Skills |
| NREM 101-3 | Introduction to Natural Resources Management and Conservation |
| NRES 100-3 | Communications in Natural Resources and Environmental Studies |
*Note: Applications for exemption from NREM 100-3 must be made within the first year of study in this degree.
200 Level
| BIOL 201-3 | Ecology |
| ENSC 201-3 | Weather and Climate |
| FSTY 201-3 | Forest Plant Systems |
| FSTY 205-3 | Introduction to Soil Science |
| FSTY 207-1 | Terrestrial Ecological Classification |
| FSTY 209-4 | Forest Biology and Silvics |
| GEOG 204-3 | Introduction to GIS |
| or GEOG 205-3 | Cartography and Geomatics |
| GEOG 210-3 | Introduction to Earth Science |
| NREM 203-3 | Resource Inventories and Measurements |
| STAT 240-3 | Basic Statistics |
Upper-Division Requirement
300 Level
| ENVS 326-3 | Public Engagement for Sustainability |
| FSTY 305-4 | Silviculture |
| FSTY 307-3 | Disturbance Ecology and Forest Health |
| FSTY 310-3 | Forest Economics |
| or NREM 306-3 | Society, Policy and Administration |
| FSTY 317-1 | Forest Disturbance Agents |
| NREM 303-3 | Aboriginal Perspectives on Land and Resource Management |
| NREM 333-3* | Field Applications in Resource Management |
400 Level
| ENVS 414-3 | Environmental and Professional Ethics |
| FSTY 405-3 | Forest Ecosystem Modelling |
| FSTY 408-3 | Forest Practices and Management |
| NREM 400-4 | Natural Resources Planning |
| NRES 421-1 | Professional Writing |
| and NRES 422-2 | Undergraduate Report |
| or NRES 430-6 | Undergraduate Thesis |
*Specified course must be completed at UNBC.
Minor Requirement Associated With the Forest Ecology and Management Degree
Forest Ecology and Management students are required to complete one of the eligible minors listed below as part of their degree. The eligible minors allow students to gain a solid foundation in numerous specialized areas of forest management.
Eligible minors are:
- Biology and Conservation
- Earth Sciences
- Environmental Science
- Environmental and Sustainability Studies
- Forest Recreation
- General Business
- Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
- Global Environmental Change
- Indigenous Ecological Knowledge
- Natural Resources Planning and Operations
- Planning
- Social Dimensions of Natural Resources Management
- Soils and the Environment
Any minors, other than those listed above, require prior approval from the Chair.
Minors have different credit hour requirements, but for all minors, 12 credit hours must be at the upper-division (i.e., 300 or 400) level. Students must ensure that all prerequisite courses have been completed for elective choices in each minor. Beyond the specific minor requirements, students must complete elective credit hours as necessary to ensure completion of a minimum of 123 credit hours.
BSc Honours - Forest Ecology and Management
The Honours in Forest Ecology and Management offers students a higher level of education and research experience for proceeding to post graduate studies. Honours students are required to complete the degree requirements for the BSc in Forest Ecology and Management. In addition, required hours of elective credit must be at the 300 or 400 level and each student must complete a 6 credit hour research thesis under the supervision of a faculty member.
Entry into the Honours Program takes place after the completion of 60 credit hours and requires a minimum Cumulative GPA of 3.33. Attaining the minimum requirement does not guarantee entry into the Honours Program, which is at the discretion of the Ecosystem Science and Management Program. Maintenance of a Cumulative GPA of 3.33 is required to remain in the Honours Program.
Elective credit hours are determined to be the number of credit hours needed to ensure completion of a minimum of 123 credit hours, not including thesis.
Note: Students are responsible for finding their own undergraduate thesis research supervisor. Faculty members are under no obligation to supervise Honours students.
Minor in Forest Recreation
The minor in Forest Recreation provides natural resource management students and others with an opportunity to gain a foundation and expertise in the specialized aspects of forest recreation while pursuing another major. This minor requires students to take a total of 18 credit hours. The minor includes three required courses foundational to the field of Forest Recreation (9 credit hours) and a set of elective courses (minimum of 9 credit hours).
Required Courses
| ORTM 100-3 | Foundations of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism |
| ORTM 200-3 | Sustainable Outdoor Recreation and Tourism |
| ORTM 300-3 | Recreation and Tourism Impacts |
Elective Courses
Nine credit hours from the following list with a minimum of 3 credit hours at the 400 level:
| ORTM 202-3 | Ecotourism and Adventure Tourism |
| ORTM 305-3 | Protected Area Planning and Management |
| ORTM 400-3 | Conservation Area Design and Management |
| ORTM 409-3 | Critical Approaches to Outdoor Recreation Activities |
| ORTM 498-(1-3) | Special Topics |
| ORTM 499-(1-6) | Independent Study |
A maximum of two courses (6 credit hours) used to fulfill program requirements for a major (or another minor) may also be used to fulfill requirements for this minor.
Minor in Natural Resources Planning and Operations
The Natural Resources Planning and Operations minor is designed for students primarily interested in planning and operations (and their governing policies) related to the management of forested and non-forested lands. Students learn about natural resource policy, forest-management planning and operations, environmental impacts of management practices, forest productivity and timber supply, and resource sustainability along with current computer-based management tools. It is strongly recommended that students taking this minor have a background in forest ecology and management.
The minor in Natural Resources Planning and Operations requires the completion of 19 credit hours, of which 12 credit hours must be upper-division (i.e., 300-or 400-level). Courses used to fulfill major requirements in Forest Ecology and Management may not be applied toward the minor in Natural Resources Planning and Operations. Students must ensure that all prerequisites are fulfilled prior to registering in any course.
Required Courses
| FSTY 403-3 | Timber Harvest Planning and Operations |
| NREM 210-4 | Integrated Resource Management |
Four of the following courses (with no more than two courses from any single program [e.g., ENPL]):
| BIOL 325-3 | Ecological Analyses |
| BIOL 413-3 | Wildlife Management |
| ECON 305-3 | Environmental Economics and Environmental Policy |
| ECON 411-3 | Cost-Benefit Analysis |
| ENPL 105-3 | Principles and Practices of Planning |
| ENPL 304-4 | Community Engagement and Inclusion Studio |
| ENPL 305-3 | Environmental Impact Assessment |
| ENPL 410-3 | Land Use Planning |
| ENPL 411-3 | Planning Theory, Process and Implementation |
| ENVS 326-3 | Public Engagement for Sustainability |
| FSTY 310-3 | Forest Economics |
| FSTY 405-3 | Forest Ecosystem Modelling |
| FSTY 415-3 | Forest Soils |
| GEOG 357-3 | Introduction to Remote Sensing |
| GEOG 413-3 | Advanced GIS |
| GEOG 457-3 | Advanced Remote Sensing |
| NREM 306-3 | Society, Policy and Administration |
| NREM 409-3 | Conservation Planning |
| NREM 410-3 | Watershed Management |
| NREM 413-3 | Agroforestry |
| ORTM 305-3 | Protected Area Planning and Management |
Updated: June 27, 2024