A class stands along the edge of a stream in a wooded area of trees with green leaves and buds.

Natural Resources and the Environment

Our vision

The Department of Natural Resources and the Environment is a world leader in scholarship addressing social and ecological dimensions of natural resources and the environment to improve environmental sustainability, promote the well-being of communities, and ensure access to sustainable energy and environmental resources.

What we work on

We create knowledge and facilitate learning to improve society’s stewardship of the environment and promote a conservation ethos for a sustainable planet.

People standing in a river spearing fish
Aquatic and Fisheries Ecology and Management
Three researchers with mountains in the background
Climate and Energy
A multi-plot garden with crops and shed in the foreground, with a blue sky and the tops of buildings of New York City off in the distance.
Conservation Social Sciences and Policy
Three researchers look into the distance through binoculars.
International Conservation
Three white terns fly in a group against a bright blue sky.
Terrestrial and Wildlife Ecology and Management

Commitment to diversity and inclusion

We are a diverse department of researchers, educators, students and staff that seek science-based solutions to environmental problems and sustainable natural resource management. In our research, teaching and outreach, we recognize that the acknowledgement and respect of all stakeholders’ perspectives is essential for achieving just and sustainable solutions to today’s environmental problems.

Read more about our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.

News

Two rows of black panels facing toward the sky

News

Upstate residents skittish on building utility-scale solar
As New York prepares for a carbon-free energy future, public support for utility-scale solar farms is much lower than support for smaller solar projects, says new Cornell research.
  • Natural Resources and the Environment
  • Behavior
  • Energy
A person holding a canvas bag with glass bottles in it

News

Five ways to make sustainability a resolution
Cornell experts from a variety of fields share their recommendations for individual actions – large and small – that can make an impact locally and globally.
  • Biological and Environmental Engineering
  • Natural Resources and the Environment
  • School of Integrative Plant Science
Three people in a boat with on holding up the albino shortnose sturgeon

News

Fish tagged 26 years ago recaptured during Hudson sturgeon count
Researchers conducting a population estimate of shortnose sturgeon in the Hudson River caught one on Nov. 19 that had been tagged 26 years ago, during the last such count.
  • Natural Resources and the Environment
  • Nature
  • Fish
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