About the Department

Our vision is to forge a sustainable future where ecosystems and people thrive.

Our mission is to create a bright future for humanity by keeping forests healthy, waterways clean, soils fertile, and native wildlife and fish abundant.

Our diverse and inclusive community fosters new discoveries, pioneers cutting-edge science, prepares students for meaningful careers, inspires the next generation of leaders, and builds partnerships to devise innovative management solutions to the greatest environmental challenges of our time.

We proudly serve with our communities locally to globally to better steward Earth's ecosystems.

We accomplish our mission through Teaching, Research, and Extension.

Our teaching provides undergraduate students hands-on experience with real-world applications, excellent internship experiences, and robust scholarship opportunities. Our graduate education offers master of science and doctor of philosophy degrees rooted in research through our core science and management disciplines.

Research programs focus on generating the new knowledge needed to restore, conserve, and better manage ecosystems to be more sustainable. Research includes all areas of natural and agricultural ecosystems, wildlife and fisheries sciences, forest sciences, hydrological sciences, and soil sciences.

Extension programs led by the Department help people make informed decisions that improve their own well-being and ensure clean water, viable populations of native wildlife, recreational opportunities, attractive communities, and the sustainable production of wood and paper products.

Meet our faculty, staff, and students, and learn more about our academic home. Welcome!

Latest News

May 30, 2023

Expo a learning experience for current, prospective forest-product professionals

Visitors from Pennsylvania and surrounding states interested in the forest-products industry and the sustainable management of forest resources will gather at the 2023 Forest Products Equipment and Technology Exposition, June 9-10 at Penn State's Ag Progress Days site at Rock Springs.

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May 15, 2023

Penn State's renamed One Health Microbiome Center affirms broad expertise

The Microbiome Center in the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences at Penn State has announced its renaming to the One Health Microbiome Center, reflecting its collaborative culture and aspirations to write its next chapter in the booming study of microbial communities that live throughout the world's environments.

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May 11, 2023

‘Nature is messy': Pioneers in landscape transcriptomics study genes in the wild

An interdisciplinary team in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences — in an initiative aimed at better understanding the implications of climate change for animal and plant life and agricultural systems — is focusing on an emerging field of study called landscape transcriptomics.

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April 24, 2023

Early-nesting ducks at increased risk due to changes in climate, land use

Each year approximately 10 million waterfowl fly north to their breeding grounds in the Prairie Pothole Region of North America, but the landscape that greets them has changed. Weather patterns and agricultural practices have significantly transformed the pothole-dotted native grasslands that waterfowl have used for thousands of years.

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Department of Ecosystem Science and Management

Address

117 Forest Resources Building
University Park, PA 16802
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