FOS and University of Maryland Launch Graduate Course in Adaptive Management 

Younger generations are playing an increasingly important role in leading the charge to conserve the earth’s ecosystems and the myriad resources that lie within them.  Recognizing the importance of these younger generations, FOS has chosen “tomorrow’s leaders” as one of three key audiences for our adaptive management training strategy.   

As a pilot initiative, we have worked closely with University of Maryland (UMD) students, faculty, and staff to develop and co-teach a course in adaptive management based on the Conservation Measures Partnership’s Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation.  The course combines theory with practical tools and hands-on experience in which students work directly with conservation professionals on real-world projects.  2007 marked the first year this course has been offered, and UMD intends to make this course a core requirement for graduate students in its Sustainable Development and Conservation Biology Program.  Already, UMD graduates are reporting how the course has helped improve communications and planning within their internship organizations and in subsequent courses. 

In 2008, FOS will also work with interested faculty from other universities to  replicate the success of the UMD course at their home institutions.