Study-travel trip introduces a “classroom in the wild.”
This summer, 14 Front Range Community College students traded their desks for Alaskan glaciers, tidal flats and rainforests—2,400 miles from Colorado.
Over the course of nine days in June, forestry, wildlife and natural resources program Director Jennifer Lee and faculty member Heather Dannahower led students through an unforgettable learning experience in Cordova. Based on Orca Inlet in southern Alaska’s Prince William Sound, the group explored the region’s varied ecosystems, studying organisms and their complex interactions.
The Alaska trip is part of the college’s Ecology: Field Study class, a three-credit elective that counts toward FRCC’s Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degrees in natural resources, forestry technology and wildlife technology, as well as several of the program’s certificates.
Sage Blacklock, who is pursuing an degree in wildlife technology, says the course connected classroom learning with the practical application of field ecology research methods.
“We weren’t just learning about ecological research,” she says. “We were applying the skills we’ve learned throughout our education. That’s a unique opportunity, and it makes us stronger job candidates when we graduate.”
Two Decades of Study Travel
FRCC’s Field Ecology course has included both international and domestic travel for more than 25 years, with past destinations such as Costa Rica, Peru and the Grand Tetons. Beginning in 2010, the faculty chose Cordova, a location rich in ecological variety with real job opportunities for students.
“Once we found this location, we kept repeating it,” Heather says. “Cordova offers such a range of ecosystems and wildlife that you can’t find anywhere else.”
Much of the fieldwork happens in and around the Copper River Delta, the largest contiguous coastal wetland system on the West Coast of North America. It’s a landscape unlike anything students see at home.
Not in Colorado Anymore
Glaciers calve into rivers that feed wetlands and tidal flats. Barrier islands shield the delta from the open Gulf of Alaska and give seabirds a place to nest. And the Chugach National Forest’s coastal temperate rainforest is vastly different than Colorado’s arid, high-altitude forests.
That variety left an impression on Sage. “It was so interesting to be in an ecologically diverse and rich space with glaciers, rock beaches and forests all in one trip,” she says.
“We hear a lot about climate change, and we experience some of that in Colorado with warmer winters and less snow. But in Cordova, we actually saw it with our own eyes.”
She adds: “It’s impossible to spend time in coastal Alaska and not feel a sense of urgency about the policies around natural resources. It inspired me to do more research on my own.”
Salmon Counts, Otter Behavior and Tide Pools
The Field Ecology course packed a lot of learning into each day.
Students set minnow traps in nearby streams to catch smolt—the juvenile salmon just beginning their migration to sea—then photographing each catch before releasing it back into the water. In the evening, they used the pictures to identify each species, tying their findings back to the habitat and discussing which species they found in different locations and why.
Other days, the group ventured into the Chugach National Forest’s coastal rainforest to research native plant species, or out onto Prince William Sound to watch sea otters and seabirds. They recorded the animals’ behaviors to build an ethogram, a structured method of how a species spends its time.
At the tide pools outside their home base at Orca Adventure Lodge, students tested their own predictions—before wading in, they would guess which of three tidal zones would hold the greatest variety of species. Then they spent a morning counting and comparing to see if they were right.
Nest Surveys and a Sonar Station
On a nearby barrier island, they surveyed glaucous-winged gull nests and tallied eggs to track the bird colony’s health as sea temperatures shift.
Students also visited a sonar station about 50 miles from Cordova, where the Alaska Department of Fish and Game tracks salmon migrating up the silty Copper River. Because the water is cloudy, sonar is the only way to count how many fish make it upstream. The state uses that daily data to decide whether to open or close the offshore commercial salmon fishery.
Student Lacy Michall’s Field Journal
Connections That Lead to Jobs
Workforce readiness is an important part of FRCC’s forestry, wildlife and natural resources program, and Cordova makes the connection between fieldwork and employment abundantly clear. “The economy of Cordova is intimately tied to natural resources,” says Heather.
There are jobs in commercial fishing, aquaculture, local non-profits and with agencies like the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the Forest Service and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. “This experience is a great way for students to see the opportunities out there and get introduced to those jobs, which is one of the primary goals of our program,” she adds.
Ties to Industry Experts
Steve Ranney, owner of Orca Adventure Lodge and the course’s longtime host in Cordova, is central to that connection in Alaska. A former bush pilot who once flew biologists to remote survey sites, Steve has deep ties to the local natural resources community and often brings in guest experts to meet with students.
This year, he arranged for them to meet with a US Forest Service employee who described seasonal job opportunities, a researcher farming kelp to support ocean health and diversify the local economy, and a scientist who has spent two decades banding hummingbirds in Prince William Sound. Students also completed a service project with the Copper River Watershed Project, helping restore habitat in the delta.
“Every day you hear students say this is shaping their future careers,” says Heather. “They’re realizing the opportunities that exist beyond Colorado.”
Small Classes, Accredited Programs
Front Range is the only community college in Colorado with accredited forestry and wildlife programs. The AAS in wildlife technology is accredited by the North American Wildlife Technology Association, and the AAS in forestry technology is accredited by the Society of American Foresters.
Aside from that distinction, Heather says that small class sizes enrich student learning. “We really take pride in getting students into the field,” she says.
“Even in our regular curriculum, none of our classes have more than 20 students.” The learn-by-doing approach, she adds, is not easy to achieve. “Hands-on learning has to be part of a field like natural resources, but it is challenging to get students outside in the field.”
Some of the college’s natural resources graduates start their careers in the field immediately after FRCC, while others transfer to four-year institutions to earn bachelor’s degrees. Many choose Colorado State University for its natural resource management program, while others go on to the University of Idaho, Montana State University, the University of Montana, Northern Arizona University, the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and Cal Poly Humboldt.
Coming Soon: A Bachelor’s Degree in Natural Resources
FRCC is planning to launch a Bachelor of Applied Science in natural resources in the fall of 2027, pending approval from the State Board for Community Colleges and Occupational Education. The program would not only give students an affordable path to a four-year degree without having to transfer elsewhere, but also provide the applied skills that employers seek when hiring graduates.
Eventually, faculty hope to offer the field ecology course every year, making the Alaska trip an annual opportunity rather than a biennial one. “We are so fortunate that the college supports this amazing class for students,” Heather says. “I’m a big believer in the benefits of study-travel for students.”
Expanding Minds, Making New Friends
For Sage, the Alaska course brought clarity to her career path. When she finishes her degree at FRCC in December of 2027, she hopes to work in natural resources policy or consulting. “I’m getting a great education,” she says. “I’ve been exposed to a lot of different areas I hadn’t considered before like GIS and forestry.”
The trip also gave her something that her other coursework would not: a vivid shared experience with like-minded classmates. “It was great to be with people who share my career goals and passions in an environment so rich with natural resources and wildlife. It reaffirmed that this is the field I want to be in.”
