This volume is the proceedings of the AMS Short Course held in Eugene, Oregon in August 1984. The discussions explored the fascinating role that mathematicians and mathematically trained scientists have played throughout the development of the discipline of natural resource modeling, and in economic theory in general. Also discussed were ways in which concepts and techniques of modeling might best be incorporated into graduate and undergraduate mathematics education.

The term “natural resources” should be interpreted broadly, encompassing air and water resources, land and soil, minerals and oil, energy resources, and such biological resources as fisheries, agricultural crops, forests, and wildlife. The objective of the Short Course, and of this volume, is to demonstrate that, despite the great diversity of kinds of natural resources, a coherent theory has developed concerning the efficient and conservative management of resources, and that this theory has a substantial mathematical component.

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