The initiative stems from HSU’s link with the U.S. Forest Service Region Five’s Northern California Consortium, an environmental education, outreach and recruitment program sponsored by the Forest Service to establish networks in Hispanic and other diverse communities. It is aimed at educating under-served rural locales about natural resources. Federal employment projections for diverse students are good in the fields of soils, range and forestry.
“We hope to draw from community colleges throughout the western United States, including WUE schools,” said Rangeland Resources and Wildland Soils Professor Susan Edinger Marshall, referring to the Western Undergraduate Exchange program. Humboldt State accepts undergraduates from 14 eligible western states, offering major savings on regular out-of-state tuition.
The new scholarships will finance up to 12 transfer students majoring in forestry, Rangeland Resources Science or Wildland Soils. Scholarships could assist six freshmen to 12 transfers or any combination in between, totaling funding for 24 student years at HSU.
“Although Rangeland Resources Science, including Wildland Soils, is a small program at Humboldt State, we are dedicated to providing scholarships to enhance the diversity of our students,” Marshall said. “HSU has the only Rangeland Resources undergraduate degree in the state of California and California is the only state we know of that requires a professional ‘Certified Rangeland Manager’ license for consulting on non-federal rangelands with woody cover under California’s Forest Practice rules.
“What is more,” she added, “Humboldt State has the only Soil Science program in the state emphasizing Wildland Soils. Last year, we surpassed Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in the number of soil science graduates.”
Marshall noted that range and soils projects typically benefit from cooperation with Humboldt County landowners “who allow students to explore land management strategies and make science-based recommendations in a consultation process.”