History of the Watershed Science Program, CSU

History of the Watershed Science Program

1957-8: A grant from the Charles Lathrop Pack Foundation ensured that the Cooperative Watershed Management Unit (CWMU) was formally established as a department in the College of Forestry and Range Management at CSU.	1960 Field trip to Arizona: R. Hawkins, B. Reich, R. Hoffer, P. Black, Bob Dils (photo by Jim Meiman)
1961 Bob Dils with graduate students: Jim Krygier and Herb Berndt	1958: Dr. Robert Dils became director of the CWMU. Dr. Dils had organized watershed courses at Michigan State University and the University of Michigan. His Ph.D. in Soil Science at Michigan State had focused on the soils and hydrology of a small watershed at the Coweeta Hydrologic Lab, NC.

*1959-1960 Catalog*
Undergraduate classes *Principles of watershed management* Watershed management Watershed programs, administration, and policy Watershed management problems I, II, III	*Graduate classes* Watershed analysis I Research in watershed management

1962: Graduate students on the Pingree road - R. A. Schmidt, W. Tischendorf, H. Keller, G. Brown, and T. Sheng.

The first undergraduates enrolled were Tom Elson, Bob Swanson, and Ron Tabler. The first B. S. degree was granted in 1959, the first M. S. in 1960.

1961: The nation's first PhD in watershed management was awarded at CSU to Peter Black.

Other early faculty in the program include Bertram Goodell, Bernard Frank, Jim Meiman, and Kendall Johnson.

1964: Howard Wertsbaugh and Jim Meiman, after long deliberation, euthanize a "sick" snowmobile on the way to Pingree.

*Educational Philosophy of the Watershed Management program*
1. Focus on the effects of land use on water - its quantity, quality, and timing - within the context of sustainable use of watersheds for multiple resource products and uses. 2. An interdisciplinary approach incorporating both bio-physical and socioeconomic disciplines. 3. Field oriented education using case studies, field practicums, and field-oriented research. 4. Flexibility for individual students to develop their personal interests around the central core focus and curriculum.

Educational Philosophy of the Watershed Management program

1. Focus on the effects of land use on water - its quantity, quality, and timing - within the context of sustainable use of watersheds for multiple resource products and uses.

2. An interdisciplinary approach incorporating both bio-physical and socioeconomic disciplines.

3. Field oriented education using case studies, field practicums, and field-oriented research.

4. Flexibility for individual students to develop their personal interests around the central core focus and curriculum.

1965: Hourglass Snowfield evaporation study.

1963: Colorado State Forest Service Truck used to get part of the way to Pingree.

Department of Recreation and Watershed Resources 1966-1969

1966: In response to increasing enrollments, the College was reorganized to form the Department of Recreation and Watershed Resources. Dr. Dils became Associate Dean for Research.

Dr. Art Wilcox, an Outdoor Recreation Specialist from Michigan State University, became Head of the new Department. He was nicknamed the "Jolly Green Giant" for his fun and helpful personality. Dr. Wilcox organized the Epicurean and Philosophical Society which met once a quarter at a restaurant within driving distance of Fort Collins. The destination would not be revealed until the participants arrived but typically the Society was more epicurean than philosophical!

1966 Undergraduates on the road to Pingree: J. Larson, B. Scholz, G. McKim, and E. Lappala.

1965: Chuck Slaughter with student helpers at Hourglass Snowfield Study.

Faculty additions during this period include Dave Striffler, Walter Gartska, Leo Teller, Lee Miller, and Bill Marlatt. The program moved from the Forestry building to the Student Services building, to Social Sciences building (now the Clark building), and finally to the NRRL building.

*Watershed Sciences Department 1970-1973*
1970: Dr. Bill Marlatt became the new head of the Watershed Sciences Department. Bill had a background in natural resources climatology and remote sensing. He was to guide the transition from a watershed focus to an expanded Earth Resources Department in 1973 with graduate programs in watershed science, geology, remote sensing, and air resources management. In 1971 he began a new course in environmental impact assessment which became known as one of the best courses in the college to help students find jobs in the 1970's and 1980's.	1971: Snow hydrology class at Pingree
1974: Lysimeter measurements, Plot C, USBR study	Freeman Smith and Jim Smith joined the faculty in 1971. Freeman had received his Ph.D. from the watershed program and specialized in modeling and ecosystem processes. Jim supplemented the remote sensing program but was transferred to the Forestry Department in 1978.
During this time there was a great demand for Watershed graduates - the USFS, BLM, and USGS were staffing hydrologist positions. Also the National Environmental Policy act created a demand for employees with broad environmental training. Watershed students had an additional edge since they received training and experience with computers as the agencies began to implement computers in their programs. Graduate enrollment increased to meet the demand for students withadvanced training in the hydrological and environmental sciences.
1964: Students building the Lower Hourglass weir.	1972: On the road to Pingree
The Department of Earth Resources 1973 - 2003
The Departments of Watershed Sciences and Geology merged in 1973 to form the Department of Earth Resources. Bill Marlatt became head of the new department.	1963: First winter facility at Pingree.
1963: Boxelder watershed analysis class	1974-5: two visiting professors came to help with teaching. Hans Keller came on leave from the Forest Research Institute in Zurich and John Hayward came from the Tussock Grasslands Research Institute in New Zealand. Karl Kober also joined the faculty on a part time basis.
In 1975 the Department of Earth Resources moved into the third floor of the newly completed Natural Resources building. Ted Chamberlain, a physical oceanographer from John Hopkins University, became Department Head. Also in 1975 Stan Ponce took over the water quality classes. He and Dave Striffler started a series of trips to watershed facilities in the western states over spring break. Dr. Ponce left the program in 1980.
2005:John Stednick	Hal Boyne was hired in 1979 to re-establish the snow hydrology program after Jim Meiman joined the Graduate School . Hal taught classes in snow hydrology and snow physics. From 1981 to 1990 Hal was Department Head. Also in 1981 John Stednick was hired to teach water quality. His research interests include water quality monitoring and the hydrology and water quality of riparian zones. John became notorious for his Alaskan bear stories.
1984: Ted Sheng joined the faculty as professor of international watershed management . He had retired to Fort Collins after many years as an international soil and water conservation expert with FAO.
Lee MacDonald	In 1991 Dave Striffler retired and Lee MacDonald was hired. Lee's research interests include hillslope hydrology, the effects of landuse on runoff, erosion, and stream channels, cumulative effects, monitoring and scale considerations, and straightening rain gages!
Pingree Park from the air before the Hourglass fire.	In 1994, the Hourglass wildfire swept through the Pingree Park campus, destroying 12 buildings and two vehicles. Other buildings suffered severe heat damage.
Post-fire image from Google Earth - date unknown.	Hourglass fire site looking towards the Mummy Range (left) and rock showing spalling (right)
The fire was probably caused by lightening from afternoon convective thunderstorms on June 30th in a very dry year. For more information click here. At 10:00 PM on July 5 the fire was contained; control was declared on July 7. The final extent of the Hourglass fire was about 1275 acres. While the forest is still recovering from the fire, students and other residents have returned.	Close-up of burnt soil and organic material (left) and a Pingree resident moose (right)
Melinda Laituri	In 1995, Melinda Laituri joined Watershed Science as the first female faculty member. Her research interests include cultural geography, environmental equity, risk, hazards, and Geographic Information Systems.
*1999-2000 Catalog*
Undergraduate classes Principles of watershed management Land use hydrology Watershed measurements Land use and water quality Water quality lab Hydrogeology Eolian and fluvial transport processes physical geography Geomorphology Seasonal snow environments Snow hydrology Geography of water resources Watershed field practicum Watershed problem analysis	Graduate classes Water-based recreation Watershed management in developing countries Cumulative watershed effects Modeling watershed hydrology Advanced topics in hydrogeology Advanced topics in snow hydrology Hillslope hydrology and runoff processes Fluvial geomorpholgy Modeling snow hydrology Watershed systems Wildland water quality Concepts in GIS GIS methods for resource management
In 2002 Steven Fassnacht became the snow hydrologist of the department. His research interests include Snow Hydrology Hydrologic Modeling Snowpack Mapping Snow Particle Characteristics Hydrological Data Assimilation Sediment Transport Modeling Channel Stability Studies	2005: Steven Fassnacht
The Department of Forest, Rangeland, and Watershed Stewardship, 2003 - present
	The Department of Earth Resources became the Department of Geosciences. Watershed sciences joined the Department of Forest, Rangeland and Watershed Stewardship. Ed Redente was head of the new department.
2003: Steven Fassnacht installed a new weather station at Pingree Park with help from: Wendy Brazenec, Linda Day, Jeff Deems, Lee MacDonald, and Julie Repass.
2006: Stephanie Kampf	2006: Stephanie Kampf is the Watershed Science's newest professor. She is interested in the physical mechanisms of water movement from an integrated perspective and studies the links between subsurface, surface, and atmospheric processes.

Sources

Dils, Bob and Meiman, Jim, 1995. Watershed Science at Colorado State University.

Meiman, James R., 2005. The Legacy of Collaborative Watershed Research Between the Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station and Colorado State University.

Smith, Freeman and Stednick, John, 2000. Watershed education at Colorado State University. Watershed Management 2000, Science and Technology for the New Millenium, Colorado State University.

Striffler, Dave, ~1991. Watershed management at Colorado State, Department of Earth Resources, College of Natural Resources.

Photos

1960-1970's photos courtesy of Jim Meiman.

Newer photos donated by many students and the watershed faculty.