Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation (CSP3128)

May 31 – June 3, 2011

Shepherdstown, WV

What will the course cover? This course will be conducted as a pilot and will equip project teams with the skills necessary for effective project cycle management in the conservation sector.  The course will introduce the theoretical concepts and practical tools behind the five steps (Conceptualize; Plan Actions and Monitoring; Implement Actions and Monitoring; Analyze, Use, Adapt; and Capture and Share Learning) of the Conservation Measures Partnership’s Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation. The course will also cross-reference the Open Standards with the Fish & Wildlife Service’s Strategic Habitat Conservation approach,  and will allow participants to work together to become familiar with and apply these concepts and tools in developing management and monitoring plans for real-world conservation projects. An overview of the Miradi Adaptive Management Software and a one-year license agreement to use the software will be provided in this course.

Course objectives: By the end of this training, participants will improve their ability to:

  • Strengthen project design, management, and monitoring processes
  • Choose the most strategic actions; set meaningful and measurable goals and objectives
  • Determine if their conservation interventions are working
  • Demonstrate and communicate their project or program’s impact to their constituency
  • Learn from their actions and improve them
  • Become familiar with the Miradi program management software.

Who is the intended audience? Federal and State biologists and managers who work on natural resource issues and are interested in taking an experimental approach to project management. Participation is based on teams of two to three individuals working on one or more projects that have conservation of the natural environment and/or natural resources as their primary mission, although individuals who are not part of an existing project team are also encouraged to apply.  Note: Participants will most likely stay offsite NCTC campus due to room availability.

Who is teaching the material? Principal instructors are from Foundations of Success, which is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to “improve the practice of conservation through adaptive management” and “work with practitioners to test assumptions, adapt, and learn”.

To Register: Department of Interior employees should apply online through DOI LEARN (https://doilearn.doi.gov). Others should complete the registration form at http://training.fws.gov/documents/Application_Student.pdf

Who should I contact? If you are interested in participating, please contact Christy Coghlan, Course Leader at 304.876.7438 or Christy_Coghlan@fws.gov.  For registration questions, please contact Marilyn Williams at 304.876.7940.