Two MEM students prune plants in the Chipeta Garden.

Clark Family School of Environment & Sustainability

Focusing on environmental studies to tackle the challenges of the twenty-first century.

The most serious environmental problems of our time have the potential to change the course of life as we know it. Issues like global warming, toxic waste, pollution, and diminishing energy supplies threaten our future if we don’t have the leadership and expertise to counteract it.

The Clark Family School fulfills this need for leadership and expertise, featuring an Environment & Sustainability major with unique emphasis options and two graduate programs, a Master in Environmental Management (MEM) and a Master of Science in Ecology. Our curriculum is rich with an environmental studies core, focusing on experiential and personalized learning, fostering strong relationships with partner organizations and donors, and creating impactful work.

Hands-On Opportunities

  • Graduate student wearing a cowboy hat standing on Verzuh Ranch wetlands with cattle behind him

    Verzuh Ranch

    Offering hands-on academic experiences in sustainability, agriculture, and environmental sciences at Western.
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  • Rich Stromberg tests the voltage of a solar panel

    Coldharbour Institute

    Students tackle sustainability challenges through research, conservation, and regenerative land management in a real-world setting.
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  • Several students gather near an alpine lake during a headwaters session

    Headwaters Conference

    This immersive conference connects students with experts to explore pressing environmental and social issues firsthand.
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Areas of Study

Applied Ecological Science – Ecology

Available as: Master's Concentration

Biology with Master in Environmental Management

Available as: Accelerated Degree

Biology with Master of Science in Ecology

Available as: Accelerated Degree

Business Administration with Master in Environmental Management

Available as: Accelerated Degree

Climate Action Planning

Available as: Major Emphasis

Ecology

Available as: Master's

Ecology & Conservation

Available as: Master's Concentration

Ecosystem Restoration

Available as: Certificate

Environment & Sustainability

Available as: Major, Minor

Environment & Sustainability with Master in Environmental Management

Available as: Accelerated Degree

Environment & Sustainability with MFA in Creative Writing

Available as: Accelerated Degree

Environment & Sustainability with MS in Ecology

Available as: Accelerated Degree

Environment & Sustainability with Outdoor Industry Master of Business Administration

Available as: Accelerated Degree

Environmental Management

Available as: Master's

Fisheries and Wildlife Management – Ecology

Available as: Master's Concentration

Food Systems

Available as: Major Emphasis

Global Sustainability – Environmental Management

Available as: Master's Concentration

Individualized Contract

Available as: Major Emphasis

Integrative & Public Land Management – Environmental Management

Available as: Master's Concentration

Politics & Government with Master in Environmental Management

Available as: Accelerated Degree

Psychology with Master in Environmental Management

Available as: Accelerated Degree

Public History with Master in Environmental Management

Available as: Accelerated Degree

Public Land Management

Available as: Major Emphasis

Recreation & Outdoor Education with Master in Environmental Management

Available as: Accelerated Degree

Sociology with Master in Environmental Management

Available as: Accelerated Degree

Sustainable & Resilient Communities – Environmental Management

Available as: Master's Concentration

Water Studies

Available as: Major Emphasis

Scholarships

Scholarships by Department

The Western Colorado University Foundation offers scholarships for this program. Explore eligibility requirements and funding opportunities.

Explore Scholarships

General Western Scholarships

Western Colorado University offers merit—and need-based scholarships, recognizing achievement, financial need, and special talents.

Explore Scholarships
“I really enjoy the amazing access to public lands so close to town, and it allows me to experience the outdoors every chance I get."

Gabby Zaldumbide

Gabby Zaldumbide

Department News

  • Verzuh Ranch: Where Conservation Meets Education

    Verzuh Ranch: Where Conservation Meets Education

    Looking around the forty acres of prime wetland habitat Wynn and Ryan Martens recently donated to Western Colorado University, you can almost feel the pressure…
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  • A view of Taylor Hall with cherry blossoms.

    Western Graduate Students, Faculty Member Receive Distinguished Achievement Award

    Recipients conducting important research in four disciplines Western Colorado University’s School of Graduate Studies is delighted to announce the recipients of the 2024 Distinguished Achievement…
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  • Western’s Clark School wins grant to help add value to internships

    Western’s Clark School wins grant to help add value to internships

    Program focused on bringing underrepresented groups into the fold Let’s face it: Interns are often more work than they’re worth to the companies and organizations…
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  • Prescribed Fire in Wilderness Research Team Honored by National USFS Award

    Prescribed Fire in Wilderness Research Team Honored by National USFS Award

    This project embodies the spirit of the Center for Public Lands and the Clark School of Environment and Sustainability On December 14 at the 2023…
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  • Mountaineers Without Borders: From Concept to Colombia

    Mountaineers Without Borders: From Concept to Colombia

    Western students build clubs, coops, and bridges Two years ago, Joshua Clyncke found himself in a place a lot of first-year college students would envy:…
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  • Western receives $10,000 Catalyst Grant to help fund push toward sustainability

    Western receives $10,000 Catalyst Grant to help fund push toward sustainability

    GUNNISON, Colorado: Even before the leaders of Western Colorado University made sustainability a guiding principle of the latest Strategic Plan, programs and departments on campus…
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  • Workshop synthesis paper describes value of prescribed fire in wilderness areas

    Workshop synthesis paper describes value of prescribed fire in wilderness areas

    We have both the opportunity and responsibility to recognize fire’s ability to renew the landscape GUNNISON, Colorado – Many of the wilderness areas that we…
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  • Women Move Mountains: Western Students Attend UN Conference in Aspen

    Women Move Mountains: Western Students Attend UN Conference in Aspen

    Katya Koepsel, a first-year student in the Master of Environmental Management (MEM) program, was among eight Western students who attended the United Nations Mountain Partnership…
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  • Western Receives Research & Education Grant from Department of Energy

    Western Receives Research & Education Grant from Department of Energy

    Western Colorado University’s Environmental Science and Forest Ecology programs were awarded a grant for $720,000 from the United States Department of Energy (DOE). To support…
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  • Western Organics Guild Continues to Grow

    Western Organics Guild Continues to Grow

    Fifteen years ago, on the Western Colorado University campus, a professor caught a student digging up the soil by the Mountaineer Field House. The professor…
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  • Danielson Honored with Antioch’s Horace Mann Award

    Danielson Honored with Antioch’s Horace Mann Award

    An attorney, professor, researcher and expert on minerals policy, national development strategies, and environmental and social performance, Luke Danielson has been a champion of environmental…
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  • Western Earns Silver STARS Ranking

    Western Earns Silver STARS Ranking

    Western Colorado University has earned a silver STARS rating in recognition of its sustainability achievements from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher…
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  • More Extreme Fires—or ‘Megafires’—to Come

    More Extreme Fires—or ‘Megafires’—to Come

    Expect to see more extreme wildfires like the East Troublesome fire in Colorado and the Holiday Farm fire in Oregon. That’s the conclusion of a…
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  • Western Graduates Named to Forbes 30 Under 30

    Western Graduates Named to Forbes 30 Under 30

    Enabling Equitable Energy Solutions An effort to bring critical solutions to renewable energy has landed two Western Colorado University alumni on a prestigious list of…
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  • Conservation Grant Helps Fund Recreation Management Project

    Conservation Grant Helps Fund Recreation Management Project

    Mitigating Landscape Impact To keep pace with increased outdoor recreational visitation, the Gunnison community is exploring avenues to mitigate landscape impacts and improve outdoor experiences.…
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  • Leadership and Experiential Learning Projects at Western

    Leadership and Experiential Learning Projects at Western

    Leadership and experiential learning projects are one of the core components of the Western Colorado University experience. With program-specific clubs, on-campus events, off-campus trips, and…
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  • Graduate Studies Program Honors Two Members for Inclusive Excellence

    Graduate Studies Program Honors Two Members for Inclusive Excellence

    The School of Graduate Studies Award for Inclusive Excellence Two members of the Western Colorado University graduate studies community have been recognized for their promotion…
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  • Researchers Help Shape Recreation Policy with Great Blue Heron Study

    Researchers Help Shape Recreation Policy with Great Blue Heron Study

    The Great Blue Herons Along a more than four mile stretch of the Slate River near the Town of Crested Butte lies a colony of…
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  • Western Among Best Colleges that Offer Hands-on Learning Experiences

    Western Among Best Colleges that Offer Hands-on Learning Experiences

    Colleges that offer hands-on learning experiences give students the opportunity to practice their field of study in an immersive, exciting way. At Western Colorado University,…
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  • Western Film Highlights Impact of Siberian Fires

    Western Film Highlights Impact of Siberian Fires

    What started with the desire to educate the public about the validity of science grew into a full-blown documentary. Now, “Smoldering Ice,” a film made…
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  • Reusable Solution to COVID-19 Disposable Container Problem

    Reusable Solution to COVID-19 Disposable Container Problem

    As the COVID-19 pandemic changed protocol for students in the classroom at Western Colorado University, it also drastically changed how students are able to dine…
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  • Research Shows Increased Wildfire Risk & Long-Term Ecological Change

    Research Shows Increased Wildfire Risk & Long-Term Ecological Change

    For Immediate Release July 1st, 2020 Risks as Wildfire Prevalence Increases of Long-term Ecological Change Western Colorado University associate professor of environment and sustainability, Jonathan Coop,…
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  • Western appoints new adjunct faculty members in graduate Ecology program

    Western appoints new adjunct faculty members in graduate Ecology program

    Western’s School of Environment and Sustainability recently announced the addition of six adjunct faculty members to the Master of Science in Ecology program. The school…
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  • Western Professor Featured in VentureWell Article

    Western Professor Featured in VentureWell Article

    Western School of Environment and Sustainability and School of Business faculty member Taryn Mead was recently featured in VentureWell, a nonprofit organization focused on solving…
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  • Western staff member featured in CBS Denver news story

    Western staff member featured in CBS Denver news story

    Western alumnus, staff member and local historian David Primus was featured in a news piece by CBS Denver regarding Gunnison’s successful efforts to quarantine the…
    Read More

Faculty & Staff

Rebecca Anderson

Program Assistant for MEM and OSP

Jared Balik, PhD

Post Doctoral Research Associate

Gillian Bauer, MEM

Lecturer in Environment and Sustainability

Ian Billick, PhD

Adjunct Faculty, Executive Director, Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory

Robin A. Bingham, PhD

Professor of Biology

Ian Breckheimer, PhD

Adjunct Faculty; Research Scientist in Spatial Ecology and Data Synthesis, Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory

Hannah M. Carroll, PhD

Assistant Professor of Environmental Science and Ecology

Kate Clark, PhD

Assistant Professor of Environment & Sustainability, Director of Undergraduate Environment & Sustainability program, Graduate Faculty in the Master of Environmental Management program, Center for Cold Climate Food Security Director

Keriann Conroy, MEM

Adjunct Professor

Jonathan Coop, PhD

Professor of Environment and Sustainability

Kindra Jesse De’Arman, PhD

Assistant Professor of Environment and Sustainability

Jennie DeMarco

MSE Graduate Advisor

Lindsay Dolezal

Program Facilitator and Grants Administrator

Briget Eastep, PhD

Center for Public Lands Director and Associate Professor

Matthew Ebbott, MS

Senior Lecturer in Recreation & Outdoor Education and Environment & Sustainability

Alex Finkelstein, PhD

Lecturer in History

Nate T. Gore, MEM

Lecturer of Recreation & Outdoor Education and Environment & Sustainability, Undergraduate Director

Karen Hausdoerffer, MFA

Lecturer in Environment & Sustainability, Graduate Writing Workshop Director

Derek D. Houston, PhD

Assistant Professor of Biology

Russell Japuntich, MS

Adjunct Faculty; Southwest District Fisheries Biologist, Bureau of Land Management

Sarah R. Johnson, MAEd

Director of Mountain Resilience Semester and Field Based and Experiential Learning Coordinator

Madelon Van de Kerk, PhD

Director of MS in Ecology; Assistant Professor of Wildlife Ecology

Patrick Magee, BA, PhD

Professor of Biology

Salif P. Mahamane, PhD

Associate Professor of Psychology; Graduate Faculty for MEM, Graduate Faculty and Outdoor Industry MBA

Patricia McCarthy

Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences Administrative Assistant

Molly Murfee, MA

Lecturer in Environment and Sustainability

Dominique Naccarato, MEM

MEM Director

Julie Nania

Coldharbour Institute Director & Faculty Lecturer

Jennie Reithel, PhD

Adjunct Faculty; Science Director, Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory

Micah Russell, MS, PhD

Clark Family School Dean

Rich Stromberg, MEM

MEM Lecturer and Graduate Mentor

Ricardo Vazquez-Perales, PhD

Assistant Professor of Environment and Sustainability, Sustainable and Resilient Communities Director

Susan Washko, PhD

Lecturer

Brooke Ann Zanetell, PhD

Assistant Professor of Public Land Management

Clark Family School of Environment & Sustainability

Dean

Undergraduate Administrative Assistant

  • Patricia McCarthy

  • Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences Administrative Assistant

Graduate Program Facilitator

Contact Information

970.943.2248
ses@western.edu

Contact Location

1 Western Way
Gunnison, CO 81230