Outdoor Recreation (OREC)

OREC 5000 (2) Introduction to the Outdoor Recreation Economy

Introduction to public lands and natural resources policy, challenges and opportunities for community economic development, and the outdoor recreation industry. Discuss and critically examine Outdoor Recreation Economy definitions, theories, and frameworks and explore the diverse career opportunities that exist within the outdoor recreation industry. Key stakeholders are identified, along with current and future trends, opportunities, and challenges. The need for sustainable practices and cross-cultural understanding and communication within the outdoor recreation economy is also emphasized.

Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.

OREC 5001 (2) Sustainability Practices within the Outdoor Recreation Economy

Explore sustainability practices that create a diverse, resilient, equitable, and just outdoor recreation industry. Focus on sustainability practices for outdoor products and businesses, as well as communities and destinations. Various environmental management systems, certification programs, and processes are viewed within an Outdoor Recreation Economy context, alongside broader social, environmental, and economic movements and factors influencing the future trajectory of the Outdoor Recreation Economy. Examine best practices surrounding the implementation and communication of sustainability efforts.

Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.

OREC 5002 (2) Leading Sustainable Change in the ORE

Explore the relationship between self-awareness, personal purpose, and leadership. Focus on the building blocks of collaborative leadership and organizational ethics. Examine different philosophies of leadership and explore how to engage with diverse constituencies. Learn how to participate in ethical decision-making. Compare training, tools, and techniques to promote and endorse ethical professional behavior within organizations.

Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.

OREC 5003 (2) Outdoor Recreation Project Tools and Skills

Successful project planning and execution in the outdoor recreation economy space requires a variety of tools and methods. This remote, synchronous course will integrate the concepts, knowledge, and skills gained from the other courses within this certificate to provide the foundation for a course project or case. Course content will include conceptual development of your project, as well as skill development in project management , stakeholder engagement, and data collection and analysis. This course has a project-focus and skills will be applied to outdoor recreation economy cases or projects.

Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
Recommended: restricted to Outdoor Recreation Economy students.

OREC 5004 (2) Environmental Justice and Stewardship

Explore an interdisciplinary approach to environmental justice and stewardship. Learn how law, policy, and outdoor recreation practices are connected to class, gender, racial, and religious disparities. Learn how law and outdoor recreation practices can contribute to both environmental integrity and social equity. Issues of water justice, public lands, sacred sites, biodiversity, wildlife management, public health, and access to nature through broader outdoor recreation are also addressed.

Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.

OREC 5005 (2) Issues in Public Lands

Explore the historical legacy, present controversies, and the projected future of public lands. Examine how fundamental concepts of property, economics, and democracy have impacted environmental law and examine the role that federal, tribal, state, and local governments play in the management of public lands. Compare major laws, such as NEPA, RFRA, and the Antiquities Act, as well as major legal disputes such as Bears Ears and the San Francisco Peaks. Intersecting interests in water, sacred lands, wilderness, outdoor recreation, hunting and fishing, resource extraction, pollution mitigation, and grazing are examined with a focus on practical, law-based perspectives.

Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.

OREC 5006 (2) Issues in Natural Resources Management

Address the challenge of managing natural resources within the increasingly complex context of climate change and development, while balancing an increase in diverse and competing values. Explore case studies across topics and geographies, and apply theory, and practical policy tools to address problems of natural resource policy and management for just and durable outcomes.

Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.

OREC 5007 (2) Public Lands and Natural Resources Policy Project

The project course represents a culmination of the certificate where students apply the skills and knowledge gained from certificate subject courses to address current policy, business, or community development challenges in the outdoor recreation economy. Students have the opportunity to analyze, research, develop, and implement innovative strategies, processes and solutions on an experiential project related to public lands and natural resources policy in the outdoor recreation economy. Students work collaboratively with colleagues and may engage stakeholders.

Requisites: Requires prerequisite courses of OREC 5004, 5005, 5006 and 5017 (all minimum grade D-). Restricted to graduate students only.

OREC 5008 (2) Community Economic Development Strategies for the Outdoor Recreation Economy

Focus on the various community and economic development strategies that can be adopted to develop and grow the Outdoor Recreation Economy within a given place. Learn from a wide variety of case study examples ranging from well-established tourism and outdoor recreation communities all the way to communities just beginning to explore what outdoor recreation could bring to their community as an economic driver. Recognition is given to the many and varied economic, socio-cultural, and environmental bene¿ts the Outdoor Recreation Economy can provide, alongside the challenges if left unchecked. In this manner, consideration is also given to the importance of integrated and collaborative community development and sustainable destination management and planning.

Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.

OREC 5009 (2) Resilient Communities and Business Development

Communities and businesses are often on the front lines when it comes to climate change impacts and natural disasters. Resilient systems can enhance communities and ultimately lower costs for businesses. This course addresses public and private sector actions that can be taken to enhance resiliency for communities and businesses.

Recommended: Prerequisite Cert 3/ Course I (Sustainable Land Use and Development).

OREC 5010 (2) Community Economic Development Tools for the Outdoor Recreation Economy

Examine the tools available to assist community development efforts through the Outdoor Recreation Economy. This includes various financial incentives and assistance programs that communities can offer, as well as infrastructure development, the development of outdoor recreation amenities and services, the conservation of public and private lands, various land management and planning tools, in addition to destination promotion and branding. Explore the various public policies and acts at the state and federal levels that may affect the funding of outdoor recreation-based community economic development and/or the manner in which policies are implemented within different communities. Analyze innovative funding mechanisms for outdoor recreation development. Best practices related to funding and in particular, grant writing, are examined.

Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.

OREC 5011 (2) Outdoor Recreation Economy Community Economic Development Project

The project course represents a culmination of the certificate where students apply the skills and knowledge gained from certificate subject courses to address current policy, business, or community development challenges in the outdoor recreation economy. Students have the opportunity to analyze, research, develop, and implement innovative strategies, processes and solutions on an experiential project that addresses current community economic development challenges and/or opportunities resulting from the outdoor recreation economy. Students work collaboratively with colleagues and may engage stakeholders.

Requisites: Requires prerequisite courses of OREC 5018, 5008, 5010, and 5019 (all minimum grade D-).
Recommended: restricted to Outdoor Recreation Economy students.

OREC 5012 (2) Strategic Leadership in the Outdoor Recreation Economy

Develop the skills and tools to confront the unique opportunities and complex situations Outdoor Recreation Economy leaders inevitably face when making decisions that can affect the lives of investors, employees, community members, and other stakeholders. Analyze business decisions in a broad range of contexts¿utilizing considerations of financial performance, personal values, and the values of key stakeholders¿to develop individual decision-making frameworks for use in your career as you earn increasing responsibility and decision-making authority. This course aims to help develop purpose-driven leaders who go out into the world and build lives and organizations that do both well and good.

Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.

OREC 5013 (2) Circular Economy and Integration of Sustainable Business Practices

Examine the tools and practices needed to set, implement, track, and communicate progress towards sustainability goals. Explore the fundamentals of a circular economy, the business value in a circular economy, how business models are presently shifting, and most importantly, why businesses should become part of this transformational shift. Develop an understanding of sustainability measurement and the skills needed to critique and improve sustainability outcomes for businesses and their stakeholders. Knowledge and skills from this course can be used to build sustainability strategies with clear and measurable outcomes, and to develop actionable sustainability plans.

Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.

OREC 5014 (2) Outdoor Recreation Business Project

The project course represents a culmination of the certificate where students apply the skills and knowledge gained from certificate subject courses to address current policy, business, or community development challenges in the outdoor recreation economy. Students have the opportunity to analyze, research, develop, and implement innovative strategies, processes and solutions on an experiential project related to current leadership and/or sustainability challenges resulting from the outdoor recreation economy within specific businesses. Students work collaboratively with colleagues and may engage stakeholders.

Requisites: Requires prerequisites courses of OREC 5012, 5013, 5015 and 5020 (all minimum grade D-). Restricted to graduate students only.

OREC 5015 (2) Building an Outdoor Recreation Enterprise

Explore entrepreneurial skills and learn how to successfully build an outdoor recreation enterprise. Students examine the fundamentals of how to develop outdoor recreation business concepts in order to turn them into a successful enterprise.

Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.

OREC 5016 (2) Foundations of Environmental Law and Culture

Explores the historical framework of environmental law and policy as it relates to federal, state, and tribal governments, as well as international bodies. Examine how cultural ideologies shape environmental law and how environmental law shapes cultural ideologies. Learn how environmental decision-making through law and policy is connected both directly and indirectly to outdoor recreation.

Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.

OREC 5017 (2) Environmental Movements, Alliances, and Legal Change

Examine the nuances of past and ongoing environmental movements and trends with a focus on public land management, outdoor recreation, water allocation, tribal self-determination, access to nature, and environmental justice. Study how law and policies have changed over the years and explore legal strategies to ensure a more sustainable, inclusive, and principled relationship with nature and fellow citizens. Learn to anticipate where environmental disputes are likely to arise in relation to outdoor recreation, and explore potential opportunities for collaboration and resolution.

Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.

OREC 5018 (2) Community and Place Matters

Explore the towns and communities that nurture and develop outdoor recreation businesses and amenities. Compare how communities provide a place for people to live, as well as the necessary infrastructure, resources and supporting facilities and services that make communities great places to live, work, visit and recreate. Examine the structure and organization of communities and the role of government and governance. Learn how the engagement and participation of community members in decision-making through democratic processes can influence the development of the outdoor recreation economy and community economic development outcomes.

Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.

OREC 5019 (2) Building Community Capacity and Readiness for the Outdoor Recreation Economy

Focus on how to build community capacity and readiness for the successful development of the Outdoor Recreation Economy. Emphasis is given to the different methods of building community capacity to ensure communities are in the best position to address challenges. Although every community is unique and the process of community economic development through the Outdoor Recreation Economy will look different from place to place, commonly identified best practices and case studies demonstrate how the Outdoor Recreation Economy can be developed to bring about significant economic, socio-cultural, and environmental benefits to communities across the world.

Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.

OREC 5020 (2) The Business of Outdoor Recreation

Examine the outdoor recreation industry and the operational life-cycle of outdoor recreation businesses. Focus on identifying and understanding industry-critical functions and interdependencies such as manufacturing, product development, branding, selling and distributing outdoor recreation products, and current and future trends.

Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.

OREC 6100 (1-4) Special Topics for Outdoor Recreation Economy

A variety of topics not currently offered in curriculum; offered depending on instructor availability and student demand.

Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 18.00 total credit hours. Allows multiple enrollment in term.
Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.